ROY JONES JR or PERNELL WHITAKER

I'm fooling around. Stonehands picks Duran. I pick Whitaker, as does Sweet Pea.

 

Oh, sorry to go against you! As you can see i'm torn because Duran is my favourite fighter, it may just come down to who you see as the more 'prolific' at what they do.

I'm expecting Sweet Pea to be on here shortly in an attempt to asolutely slaughter my post!!!

 

Nah, I've debated this one too many times. Me and Rob think Whitaker would fight off the backfoot(like he did against Nelson) effectively rather than opting to stand within range or in the pocket. That's simply not going to work against Duran.

I can see arguments either way honestly. Duran has the versatility to get in on Whitaker at times with his feinting and underrated speed, Whitaker has the ability to not only fight off the backfoot behind a jab, but to slip shots and counter with the best of them. Would be a hell of a matchup.

 

Most definitely, you know i cant believe i havent properly debated this one yet. Ive never been the most eager to have a go at it i'll admit, but i agree with you totally on both fighters having the versatility to have good success throughout the bout.

 

??? This poll makes me wonder. Jones was much bigger, and hit much harder. He was a big middle, and natrual light heavy. And he was more skilled on offense. Whitaker does not hit hard enough in this fight. He's a natural welter, but it would be fun to see if he could make Jones miss.

At any rate Roy Jones wins this fight.

 

I think Duran never met anyone at lightweight who could cover-up inside like Whitaker. Undeniably Duran brings more volume and ferocity inside; better 'outright' offense. But Whitaker's awareness inside and his accuracy downstairs can't be overlooked when it comes to scoring at close quarters. He crouched down, tucked his elbows in tightly, and twisted with incoming traffic. IMO he has the durability to take what comes his way, especially if he limits his time in Duran's office. And Whitaker without any question whatsoever has the tools to take Duran for a circus ride and limit him on what he wants to do.

Whitaker's movement and the ability to fight off the backfoot would present problems for Duran. His whole style at distance and adaptability would negate Duran's strengths. And the biggest and most crucial aspect regarding Whitaker frustrating Duran is that he'd make him think more than normal, thus making Duran's punch output drop. Whitaker could fire punches in a stationary position, laterally, and backing-up in straight lines. And when both at arms length, Whitaker would land on Duran more then vice versa. I watched a bit of Duran-De Jesus III last night and I noticed that Duran paws with the jab a lot of the time. It's not a darting accurate kinda jab that could trouble Whitaker. This sure aint De Jesus that Duran would be in with. He's fighting a 'box of tricks'.

Power? Well that obviously is an area where Duran comes up trumps over Whitaker. But sadly Whitaker's durability and ring generalship make the power of Duran ineffective. Afterall, Whitaker took the bombs of Trinidad at welterweight when he was shot at 35 years old. After watching Duran fighting Edwin Viruet in New York in 1975 my feeling that Whitaker would tame Duran have became stronger. He's lucky he wasn't sharing a ring with a prime Whitaker that night or he would have been going home to Panama with a red face. He seemed frustrated by the movement, jab, and overall approach presented to him by Viruet. Duran's attacks were limited to say the least simply because he wasn't allowed to do the things he wanted to do.

Whitaker had the movement to give Duran problems. Watch Ramirez I and Nelson. And watch Ramirez II for his bursts inside and his ability to go into a shell in the pocket.

 

I think Whitaker was technically more proficient, overall the same calibre of fighter prime for prime, and had the better resume.

Pea had a better jab and better P4P stamina, also he was better defensively and a more skilled boxer than Jones. He also had the better chin relative to his weightclass.

Jones on the other hand was faster P4P, more powerful, and overall more of a force in the ring.

 

So what do you make of Duran's other bouts with lesser movers/slickters than Pea? Such as a guy like Viruet. Hell, Bizzarro did nothing but move without providing any offense whatsoever and went to the 15th with Duran. I highly doubt a stoppage would happen, especially given Pea's durability.

 

i think jones edges it because of the his huge migration up to heavyweight,

this is a huge winging of a statement but jeez, if he beats calzaghe, i think it would be a rejuvination of greatness

 

Trinidad hit harder at welterweight than Duran did at lightweight. That was when Whitaker was past his prime and not at his best weight. Whitaker's legs had gone, he was shot.