Armstrong was obviously too good to just chase Pea, he would bob & weave his way in & he would not stop for the duration of the fight, the fact that Whitaker would not hurt him is almost irrelevant, its the style of Armstrong that would trouble Whitaker more than vice versa & its not as if Armstrong had no outside game whatsoever, he did but his bread & butter was to outwork you on the inside & he would outwork Pea too, Armstrong would not be nullified in the manner Chavez was IMO. Botswana :thumbsup
Your point? He was still well past his prime and at the very end of his career, won the first 4 or 5 rounds, and faded down the stretch like I said (partly due to age, partly due to Armstrong, partly due to not having the speed or ability to box off the backfoot the way Whitaker did). If you've seen the end of the fight, you know this is untrue. Armstrong gave him a beating down the stretch, Ross was just a tough cookie. I don't think Armstrong was landing the cleaner shots, nor did he have a higher workrate even, which was usually always the case. Typically it took him a little while to get his stride, and after a while Ross started to tire out, having put in so much early work just trying to deter Armstrong, while Armstrong started picking up the pace. What it all comes down to is the fact that Ross was always within range, he wasn't a mover off the backfoot like Whitaker was, and at that stage of his career, was flat out not as good as Whitaker. Ross's strengths were his jab (of which Pea's was superior) and his overall technical skills. He wasn't the pure boxer that opted to fight on the move as Whitaker was typically, and thus not as refined at this style. The fact that he wasn't as quick or elusive didn't help matters. I hope I've just explained the differences well enough so that I won't need to repeat myself. Ross and Whitaker fought hardly anything alike, and power is NOT needed to "keep a fighter off". What is needed is the ability to fight off the backfoot consistently, a stiff jab and workrate to keep the opponent occupied, and masterful ring maneuverability in order to keep on the move. Unless the opponent has great footspeed or some other substantial physical characteristic, it's going to be a hard night putting in any kind of strong work. If Pernell were winning here and there after the first 5 or 6, it's likely he'd take a good 8 overall, even under your scenario, and provided the fight is 15 rounds.
Not to mention that Armstrong can hit you successfully from medium range before he got on the inside.
While Armstrong was relentless, his lack of footspeed would play a factor. If he were constantly pressuring under an extremely fast pace instead of simply constantly pressuring, he'd cause Whitaker to tire out quicker (even though Pea never really had any trouble in that regard), in which case your scenario would make more sense. The thing is, Whitaker wouldn't be forced to move at such an intense pace all night rather than to simply stay on the backfoot, work behind the jab, and time him coming in with counters. The further along the fight gets, the harder that gets, and the more Armstrong comes on, but Pea should be able to more than hold his own throughout the majority of the fight, taking more rounds on effective work in the process. That's the way I see it anyway.
Very true, its not as if Armstrong HAD to be inside to land good punches, its just that his BEST work was done there. Also... Armstrong wasnt easy to catch cleanly either, he had a good defence when you consider just how offensive he was.
Whitaker was much better on the inside than Armstrong was at mid or long range. Armstrong does get underrated defensively though.
All true. But as you know, Armstrong was SO effective at getting inside aswell as doing damage inside that Whitaker`s `more completeness` if you will might just amount to 0. Thats might, we can only guess. :thumbsup
Whitaker IMO has the perfect style to negate almost all others. Someone like Hearns beats him, including a lightweight version if that was possible. You need to have the the height and reach over him, busy jab, also the chilling power. Armstrong and Duran aren't going to lay their gloves on Whitaker more than vice versa. He doesn't need to the power to keep both those cats off him. If he wasn't able to move laterally or on the backfoot, then yes, he would need that power. Whitaker v Duran at lightweight. Just watch that Lion get tamed. Trust me.
The fact is, Armstrong worked Ross in that fight and it didn't take long for him to take over. He took about 11 to 13 rounds in that fight. I've seen the fight, beleive me. Anyway, there are some questions are raised here. Can Pernell move for 15 rounds while Armstrong is walking him down? Does he have the stamina to move and put up a respectable output to beat Armstrong? I don't think he can, you think he can, so I guess we'll never reach an agreement, I think this is one of those match-ups that can go either way. Armstrong can still hit Pernell at mid-range and catch him backing up.