Where does Pernell Whitaker rank?

i think whitaker should at the very least be in everyone's top 20 all-time... he was the 4th person to win world titles at both 135 and 147 (at the time, the other 3 were barney ross, henry armstrong and roberto duran) and when he won at 154, i think he became the 4th man to win titles in 4 different weight classes (joining i believe leonard, hearns and duran)

about his controversial losses/draws, sweet pea may have been jobbed in a few but he also received gifts in a couple (his first fight with rivera especially)

 

Top 15 is definitely pushing it!:bart

 

Explain.

And poster above, what decisions aside from Rivera I were close enough to consider "gifts" for Pea?

Pea was clearly on the downslide by that point of his career anyway.

 

Incredible talent as far as defense, as good as Willy Pep or better.

But I HAAAATTTTEEDDDD the showboating, and the walking away from your opponent, which is against the rules and also both lame and disgraceful.

But obviously one of the three or four best lightweights ever.

 

Simple. Whitaker's overall resume and obvious skills are impressive but IMO there is not ONE truly impressive win on his resume!

 

Top 15. One of the most brilliantly talented boxers that I have ever seen.

 

top 25 for sure, his lack of offense prevents him from being higher.

 

Who's that bad-ass in your avatar:yep

 

I have him at number 4 ATG at 135, the man was an elite lightweight, and i dont use the word 'elite' for any other than just that! Dominant, even though didnt have the greatest of lightweight fighters as his competition, emerged the best of a good era, and as i say- was dominant.

P4p he is among the best , although i wont do that ranking wise!!!

 

some dude that instills gutteral fear in the soul of one Fraud Mayrunner.

 

Dont wanna get into the debate about Marg and Floyd, but your avatar is great i think! I think there's a difference between agressive fighters and VICIOUS ones. The man in my avatar and the 1 in yours are both the latter!

 

gift might've been the wrong word... other than his fights with rivera, i'm principally thinking about his 154 lb. title fight in which it seemed a whitaker victory was a foregone conclusion (the 2 point deductions from vasquez and the ridiculous margins of victory on all 3 judges' scorecards)

 

Vasquez? Chavez? McGirt(either time)? Nelson?

Which one of those was not impressive?

 

Yup, when I saw it live I thought AM was counting along with the ref as he counted out Cintron in the rematch. . . but in reality he was asking him to get up so he could beat the last drops of terd outta him! Thats a hardcore mo-fo. Duran was a mean SOB as well, an old friend of mine (former boxing judge) met him back in the day and said he was one of the most intimidating people he's ever met.

 

The fight was closer than the scores indicated, but it still was no robbery by any means, as Pea clearly deserved the decision.