I think that Whitaker's style and movement bears pretty clear similarities to that of Jersey Joe. Do anyone know if he himself ever has commentated upon that, how big an influence Walcott was for him?
I don't see the remblance at all. Whitaker was a vastly superior fighter. Lightning Lonnie Smith did some things like Walcott, but Smith was a lot better than Walcott, too.
Yes, Whitaker was better, but I do see similarities. The way they both walked glidingly away from their opponents - not dancing and certainly not running - in smooth circles with almost constant upper body movement (Walcott shifted his shoulders while Whitaker used vertical movements to a higher degree) to at a given time stop and counter and then get smoothly away. Both were superb at using angles and not giving their opponent time to set himself, instead engaging on their own terms. Please don't see this as comparison of their respective greatness, just their styles.
No, absolutely not. I'm not saying that Whitaker was a copy cat in any way. But like every great fighter he had his influences and put his own very personal touch to it. To pick up influences isn't a mark of weakness, just the opposite.
Smith fought during a fairly competitive era in his division, beating Costello and going the distance against Chavez. He was never knocked out and only stopped once. Walcott fought during a weak era and was knocked out six times. Smith won 85 percent of his fights. Walcott won 72 percent of his. Walcott was outpoint by light heavyweights Joey Maxim and Ezzard Charles, and knocked out by Abe Simon and Rocky Marciano, among others. Smith looks better on film, too. Yeah, I say Smith's better than Walcott. Walcott really wasn't that good. He is the most overrated heavyweight on ESB.
I think Jersey Joe was much more dependent on his legs than Whitaker was. My subjective feeling has always been that Pernell could do it largely with handspeed and upper body movement alone. (This is the impression I've had ever since seeing Whitaker in the Olympics.) However, I'm not as familiar with Pea's professional career as others on this board.
I added the stuff about Whitaker being so much greater because it needs to be said. It's wasnt my argument. My argument was that Whitaker doesn't box like Walcott. I await to see any video or accurate description that demonstrates the similarities. Whitaker was elusive, a master boxer. Walcott was cute with a gimmicky way of boxing. It wasn't substantive. Walcott wasn't elusive. Smith used a lot of Walcott's gimmicks. Walking off in unpredictable manner. Unexpectly turning sideways. Raising a shoulder to block a shot in a demonstrable way. Falling into the ropes. But, in contrast to Walcott, Smith was a better boxer and, crucially, he was more durable. Both were cute. But Smith had more substance to his style. I don't know why this is controversial. You just need to look at the film. It plainly obvious.
Lets's do that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gB09VEEZvM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS0CZRZtwaw&feature=related I see clear similarities (as I described above). That does not mean there aren't any differences at all in style and quality. Just that Whitaker reminds me of Walcott in several ways.
Don't know about Whitaker ,but Buddy McGirt is a big Walcott fan and said he emulated some of his moves.