When was Pernell Whitaker a shot fighter ?

[Evander]

Maybe Diosbelys Hurtado Jan 1997.

If not v Andrei Pestriaev Oct 1997 for sure.

Siding with the former though.

[Adamj1987]

maybe neither because he won teh andrei fight but is only a NC because of cocaine i recon he was shot after the trinidad fight, he lost his reflexes during his lay off between andrei and felix and then trinidad punched him out

[theone]

Whitaker began to slip somewhere between the Vazquez fight and the first Rivera fight. He was running on fumes by the time he fought Hurtado. Totally shot after the Delahoya fight.

[boxerbob]

agree with "one"

i still think he beat de la hoya but he took way to many punches vs vasquez and rivera

[-KOKid-]

The fight against De La Hoya was certainly his last great performance.
A lot of people thought he deserved the decision in that fight - probably Bob Arum too, who said "No way" when a rematch was suggested.
I remember being particularly disgusted with the judge who only gave Sweet Pea two rounds of that fight.

If I recall correctly, Whitaker was supposed to fight Ike Quartey after the DLH fight, but it fell through.
Instead he met Andrei Pestraiev and looked terrible.
I remember thinking that Whitaker would have been stopped if he (Whitaker) had showed up in that form against Quartey.

[Goodnight, Irene]

"Shot" &, "past-prime" are two different things. I think the Whitaker who battled De La Hoya was analogous to the Walcott who first clashed with Marciano --- a fighter whose best days were behind them, but who was still capable, & happened to deliver a healthy dose of their old form on one night. Nothing shortly prior --- or immediately after --- the fight with De La Hoya tells me Whitaker was at his peak, but he certainly declined further (& with remarkable swiftness, I might add) thereafter, to the point of being shot.

He turned out to be a fighter who faded precipitously. One minute he was Whitaker, the next, he was someone else, & before too long, he was scoring hail-mary's against Hurtado & picking himself up off the canvas against Trinidad for a paycheque.

Personally, though he's naturally the smaller man, I think the Whitaker who fought Chavez beats both Trinidad & De La Hoya --- especially the former --- at Welter.

[Robinson]

Sweat pea was on the bad end of a few nasty decisions.
I thought he should have got the nod against DLH.

[Goodnight, Irene]

^^^You oughtta see his first fight with Ramirez, if you thought the De La Hoya decision was unpleasant.