Sweet Pea Whitaker: One of my all time faves!

[oogiebe]

watched some Pernell Whitaker fights and highlight reels today. He was so freakin' great. As good defensively or better than FMJ and way more offense. In his prime, no one could beat him. He was absolutely robbed vs Ramirez, (the back story with Sulaiman and Chavez smelled of shvt) and I gave a past prime Whitaker the dec vs De La Hoya . I'm not even mentioning his fight with JCC, as it was the worst decision of them all. Watching him really tells you where he got his nickname from. It was a "sweet" stroll down memory lane for me.

[chrisjs1985]

Not a huge fan of his myself but he's undoubtedly great. IMO better than Mayweather, yes.

The only fight I scored against him of course was Trinidad and the one after where he got injured. I thought he beat Oscar and of course everyone knows he won fight I vs. Ramirez and beat Chavez.

[oogiebe]

I think great as he is, he's way underappreciated. One of the few fighters who took his extraordinary natural gifts and worked really hard on his technique to make him what he was. Master of the open stance jab (so as a lefty his jab was still his setup punch); great foot speed and amazing head movement, and his ability to punch (over the top right to setup left uppercut)...Oh yeah, he was a great inside fighter. I think I'm in love!

[elmersalsa]

Not to mention that he was very, very strong on the inside exchanges. A true and very underrated boxer and all time great. A true master. The Fighter of the 90s decade.

[oogiebe]

Not to mention that he was very, very strong on the inside exchanges. A true and very underrated boxer and all time great. A true master. The Fighter of the 90s decade.

Terrific inside game, as I had mentioned. Nice to see he has some appreciation. I'd take him over FMJ any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[DrDuke]

Sweet Pea was the great master, but unlucky, unappreciated and now underrated.

[Onetimeonly]

Best fighter since Leonard. Really annoying when clowns like Rafael say Jones was p4p for a decade like Whitaker didn't have that spot at all.

[chrisjs1985]

Best fighter since Leonard. Really annoying when clowns like Rafael say Jones was p4p for a decade like Whitaker didn't have that spot at all.

Rafael also said Ward is a top 50 all-time, Wladimir is 100% without question a top 10 heavyweight and with Freitas being one of his personal favorites and his apparent lack of historical knowledge he probably thinks Popo is Brazil's GOAT. He also said Castillo should never be considered for the IBHOF because he missed weight vs. Corrales but that Corrales is a shoe-in (despite missing weight for Casamayor) and LOL at him having a go at weight.

[oogiebe]

Best fighter since Leonard. Really annoying when clowns like Rafael say Jones was p4p for a decade like Whitaker didn't have that spot at all.

Rafael also said Ward is a top 50 all-time, Wladimir is 100% without question a top 10 heavyweight and with Freitas being one of his personal favorites and his apparent lack of historical knowledge he probably thinks Popo is Brazil's GOAT. He also said Castillo should never be considered for the IBHOF because he missed weight vs. Corrales but that Corrales is a shoe-in (despite missing weight for Casamayor) and LOL at him having a go at weight.

What credential does Dan Rafael actually have? Reading him I find he's skimmy; surfacey; without depth.

[Onetimeonly]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

[Onetimeonly]

Best fighter since Leonard. Really annoying when clowns like Rafael say Jones was p4p for a decade like Whitaker didn't have that spot at all.

Rafael also said Ward is a top 50 all-time, Wladimir is 100% without question a top 10 heavyweight and with Freitas being one of his personal favorites and his apparent lack of historical knowledge he probably thinks Popo is Brazil's GOAT. He also said Castillo should never be considered for the IBHOF because he missed weight vs. Corrales but that Corrales is a shoe-in (despite missing weight for Casamayor) and LOL at him having a go at weight.

What credential does Dan Rafael actually have? Reading him I find he's skimmy; surfacey; without depth.

He's been covering a long time. He's fine with current stuff but lacks historical knowledge.

[oogiebe]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

LOL! His coverage of the Fury/Wilder fight was a bit off if memory serves. It's his analysis that bothers me. I read him and wait for the "why's" and they never seem to transpire. So I was curious how the fvk he got that job.

[chrisjs1985]

Yeah, he's really good for current events and has great connects. He's a very good journalist but he has poor knowledge of history yet sometimes will make (laughable) statements as facts but they are because he lacks the knowledge. I can take him though because he doesn't try to pass himself of as an authority on history he really just knows the famous names.

[chrisjs1985]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

LOL! His coverage of the Fury/Wilder fight was a bit off if memory serves. It's his analysis that bothers me. I read him and wait for the "why's" and they never seem to transpire. So I was curious how the fvk he got that job.

He's passionate and he's hired to get the scoop and write about current events and he's good at that. I do think he lacks professionalism a lot of times by trashing fighters. I get that everyone takes sides and has their favorites but he's disrespected quite a few fighters and sometimes in his chats he's been insulting towards fans. It's not a great look and I'm surprised ESPN hasn't had a word with him about it.

[chrisjs1985]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

Did he say that about Wlad and Frazier? Oh wow. Just wow. I'm slightly offended by that.

I'm a big Tszyu guy. He's arguably top 5 IMO but in a weight division that has housed Loi, Pryor, Cervantes, Benitez, Ortiz, Locche, Chavez to name but a few it's far from definite though I think I'd put him in such a ranking.

[Onetimeonly]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

Did he say that about Wlad and Frazier? Oh wow. Just wow. I'm slightly offended by that.

I'm a big Tszyu guy. He's arguably top 5 IMO but in a weight division that has housed Loi, Pryor, Cervantes, Benitez, Ortiz, Locche, Chavez to name but a few it's far from definite though I think I'd put him in such a ranking.

Yeah, he'd call you a moron if you gave Joe a chance to last 5. Tszyu isn't top 5 to me. Look is another. Perkins.

[chrisjs1985]

Wlad massacres Frazier in 2 rounds and tszyu is a definitive top 5 Jr welter are a couple more gems. His news is reliable though.

Did he say that about Wlad and Frazier? Oh wow. Just wow. I'm slightly offended by that.

I'm a big Tszyu guy. He's arguably top 5 IMO but in a weight division that has housed Loi, Pryor, Cervantes, Benitez, Ortiz, Locche, Chavez to name but a few it's far from definite though I think I'd put him in such a ranking.

Yeah, he'd call you a moron if you gave Joe a chance to last 5. Tszyu isn't top 5 to me. Look is another. Perkins.

I can't see Wlad getting past 8 or 9 and it would be relentlessly one-sided.

Yeah, Perkins has a strong case too. Doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I wonder how many of those on the road losses would have gone his way closer to home. I do like Tszyu's skill level and dominance and though there's a lack of truly special fighters on his resume at the time it was considered a red hot division and he won a number of fights that were 50/50's like Mitchell fights, Judah, Gonzalez etc; too bad the injuries took over at the end because I think he was a great fighter.

[Onetimeonly]

I think he was really good. fornicating spell check. *Loi* was supposed to be look.

[chrisjs1985]

I think he was really good. effing spell check. *Loi* was supposed to be look.

It's too bad there's been no footage released of the Loi-Ortiz fights and I don't know what any of the Loi-Perkins have emerged either. The weird rule of a ref being the only judge in Europe may have had an influence on the last Loi-Perkins fight. Italian fans have a reputation (especially in that era) of being very hostile. A ref potentially risks his life going against the hometown guy. The Hernandez loss looks weird given that Henry Armstrong was ref and didn't give Hernandez a round yet the two (presumably local) judges had Hernandez barely winning. He never got re-matches after both those fights.

[Onetimeonly]

Yeah, it amuses me when fans now think judging is any worse than it used to be. Everett/escalera might be the worst ever.

[oogiebe]

Yeah, it amuses me when fans now think judging is any worse than it used to be. Everett/escalera might be the worst ever.

A lot of publications point to that as being at least top 5 robberies in history. You only have to buy 2 judges.

[Onetimeonly]

In his hometown too. Though it was an even worse decision to let his gf catch him with that tranny.

[oogiebe]

In his hometown too. Though it was an even worse decision to let his gf catch him with that tranny.

oh shvt! That's what got him murdered. I had no idea.

[Nile4000]

Sweet Pea was great, though I still feel Howard Davis Jr would have beaten him.

[oogiebe]

Sweet Pea was great, though I still feel Howard Davis Jr would have beaten him.