Who's the better defensive fighter Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Pernell Whitaker?

[Xi_]

pernell whitaker used drugs. saying that his style is the only cause of his deterioration isn't fair.


jones went up to HW and came back down to 175 lbs where he was knocked out twice, and brutally. again, it's not fair to forget that this happened.

drugs or not, there is no way he would have been able to keep that fighting style going into his late 30's and early 40's.

[-PBP-]

hopkins and floyd defensive style allowed them to last in the sport for years after their primes. how the hell can anyone argue that roy jones and whitaker have better defense? this isn't rocket science.

That's a flawed argument though on that basis alone. Do you base longetivity on years in the sport, number of fights, or what? How does Whitaker abusing his body with drugs or Roy losing 25 pounds of muscle factor into their ability to perform at a high level late into their careers? Or Whitaker's extensive amateur career which has a wear and tear on your body?

George Foreman is the oldest heavyweight champion of all time, so is he the best defensive heavyweight of all time? Wlad is still performing at a high level headed into his 40s and rarely gets hit. Do you consider him to be the greatest defensive heavyweight of all time?

Being a great defensive fighter to me is not as easy as "Who gets hit the least" and "who lasts the longest". Erislandy Lara has one of the best plus/minuses in boxing history and I don't consider him to be a good defensive fighter at all.

[Ahmed_Ismail]

Against low opposition they're pretty close, but on the elite level there's no comparison really, Floyd Mayweather's defense is second to none.

[Deevel916]

Put it this way. Sweat pea made defensive fighting entertaining. He would draw cheers from the crowd with his deference prowess. Fans would look forward to seeing how bad pernell would make his opponents miss and made fools out of them. He was able to use his defensive skills as his attraction.

[Xi_]

That's a flawed argument though on that basis alone. Do you base longetivity on years in the sport, number of fights, or what? How does Whitaker abusing his body with drugs or Roy losing 25 pounds of muscle factor into their ability to perform at a high level late into their careers? Or Whitaker's extensive amateur career which has a wear and tear on your body?

George Foreman is the oldest heavyweight champion of all time, so is he the best defensive heavyweight of all time? Wlad is still performing at a high level headed into his 40s and rarely gets hit. Do you consider him to be the greatest defensive heavyweight of all time?

Being a great defensive fighter to me is not as easy as "Who gets hit the least" and "who lasts the longest". Erislandy Lara has one of the best plus/minuses in boxing history and I don't consider him to be a good defensive fighter at all.

yes i do consider wlad to be one of the greatest defensive hw's ever....forman was getting his ass whooped against michael moore so let's not forget that he was about to lose that fight.....drugs or no drugs whitaker's style wouldn't have allowed him to fight into his late 30's and 40's because it required superior legs, reflexes and clowning. weight loss and drugs are nothing but excuses.

[New England]

drugs or not, there is no way he would have been able to keep that fighting style going into his late 30's and early 40's.

and floyd's the same fighter he was at 130?

right.

[Xi_]

and floyd's the same fighter he was at 130?

right.

and that's why floyd is a greater defensive fighter.......he's able to adapt, he's always had more tools in his bag than whitaker.

[Chrismart]

I'd pick Whitaker. But i mean...it's close, i wouldn't argue with anyone's pick either way in this one.

I find it surprising that people refer to it as 'not even close', or 'an obvious pick'..it's anything but that in my opinion.

[BrometheusBob.]

Pernell Whittaker is the better defender and fighter prime for prime imo. And I'm not saying that just because I hate PBF. Even though I do. But I digress.

[The Big Dunn]

Put it this way. Sweat pea made defensive fighting entertaining. He would draw cheers from the crowd with his deference prowess. Fans would look forward to seeing how bad pernell would make his opponents miss and made fools out of them. He was able to use his defensive skills as his attraction.

Fans in Sweet Pea's era appreciated all aspects and styles and didn't care what channel a fight was on. Today there is a large group of fans that only want to see their favorites get KO's on HBO and hate everything else.