I think this attribute is greatly overlooked when we consider Pernell as a great fighter, We all talk about his incredible defence,Solid chin and great boxing ability but Handspeed never gets mentioned why?
his hand speed was ridiculous but more importantly he was ABSURDLY accurate with his fists. So he may not be extremely explosive with his hands, but the fact that he had such a high output and very quick hands with absurd accuracy and the best defense EVER just makes him a GOD....-_-
Exactly. If Whitaker had a big punch he'd be banned from the sport for safety reasons. As it was, he was able to come close to beating the best of a generation despite being coked up and past his prime.
I think people talk about Whitaker's speed. Not as much as his defense, but that comes with the territory. I think more attention should be given to Whitaker's jab and bodypunching. Whitaker's left hand power is often overlooked. His left hand was nothing to scoff at. When he loaded up on it, he could hurt guys.
His speed is indeed underrated. Whitaker wasn't a shoe-shiner like many of the guys of his era that get credited for their fast hands (Camacho, Taylor, DLH). When Pea threw punches he wanted to land them. He subjugated his speed to accuracy and placement. That said, he wasn't quite as quick as the above named fighters, but he wasn't as far behind as is often thought.
Yeah I'd go with that aswell. His fight with Brazier really show cases his all-round ability, the body punching, the speed, the jab everything.
