Comments Thread For: Measured Against All Time: Pernell Whitaker In Memoriam

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

by Cliff Rold - On July 20th, Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker was laid to rest in Norfolk, ******ia. It was the end of the story for one of the great fighters in the modern era. For fans of a certain age, it remains a hard loss. Only 55 years old, a car struck Whitaker in an unfortunate accident and the news sent a shock. He f...
[Click Here To Read More]

[bulldognyc]

*strictly for boxing/ martial arts practitioners.
First time I saw him he made me believe/ understand toughness. Can I take one or not? Boy the way sweet pea play in there, you can tell he like to fight. Then later on in his 30’s, around my age, I can see where talent took over dedication. Boy this guy is about as good as they get. His best KO was 2 divisions above where he competes for the absolute best!!! Him and Duran got a solid argument. Debate that. Guys fought like hell. Instead of picking, Pernell looked for who was up next. As a American he took the body shot game to all Mexicans. I’m Latino. But his way was special. TBC...

[bulldognyc]

This guy was kung fu. Real stuff. Non of that movie stuff. You want to learn to fight brave, watch. That boy dance, glide and abuse. He hits always and often. Man this guy could fight. He was a damn problem. Dude was MAD SHORT!!!! Won one at 54. Tired of some of the bull****. A lot slick talking going down around here and I’m not talking it. This guy could not only box but he could FIGHT!!

[Alan Smithee]

Pernell Whitaker was not only a defensive wizard but fought his ass off. No disrespect to Floyd Mayweather but Sweet Pea proved that you can employ a defensive style while also always providing excitement!

[ShoulderRoll]

Mayweather was exciting too when he was young and before his hands started to bother him.

In any case there's no question that Whitaker is an all-time great. The debate is just how high to rank him. At lightweight he might not have the deepest resume ever but I could see him beating Gans, Duran, Benny Leonard, etc head-to-head.

[Bronx2245]

May 4, 2012
Kevin Iole
Yahoo Sports

Shelly Finkel, one of the sport's leading managers for more than two decades, was at his peak at the time and had a stable of elite fighters led by superstars Evander Holyfield and Pernell Whitaker.

Finkel, like most top managers, was desperate to get Mayweather signed to a contract when he turned pro, which was expected to be after the Atlanta Olympics. So, Finkel would send money to Mayweather to help him with his expenses and, in essence, try to remain in his good graces.

Finkel brought Mayweather to Norfolk, Va., to train with Whitaker, whom many at the time believed was the best fighter in the world.

"Way, way back, long before the Olympics, anybody who knew boxing knew he'd be a star," Finkel, now a concert promoter, said of Mayweather. "He was the guy. You knew he was going to do big things. He was brought up in a boxing family and he was so dedicated to the sport.

"There's so much hype around him now for things outside of the ring; the money and the cars and the flashiness and what not. But the truth of the matter is, the reason he's successful is that he trains his [expletive] off. I don't know if there is anybody in the game who works harder, and he was that way even back then when he was a kid."

Mayweather was one of several amateurs, along with Zahir Raheem and Zab Judah, who went to Norfolk to train with Whitaker in 1994.

Mayweather wouldn't say much about how the sparring went.

"I've got respect for champions," he said. "It was good work for both of us. That's all I'll say."

Ronnie Shields, now one of the sport's best trainers, was an assistant trainer under George Benton at the time working with Whitaker. He was there to see Whitaker and Mayweather spar. And while he said Whitaker had few problems with the 17-year-old prodigy, it was obvious that Mayweather was destined to be a superstar.

"Pernell handled him, like he handled all of those guys," Shields said. "He wasn't hitting them hard, just playing with them, going down low like he did and fighting with his hands at his side. They couldn't hit him. But remember, Pernell was the best in the world at the time. When Mayweather was in there, even though he was having trouble with Pernell, it was obvious how good the kid was.

"Pernell is a guy who doesn't give out a lot of compliments. He didn't want to say anything about another fighter, because he didn't like the idea of anyone upstaging him. But I remember him saying to me, 'Man, this kid is good right now.' He said to Floyd, 'You stay with this and you remain dedicated, ain't nobody going to touch you.' "

https://www.yahoo.com/news/naturally...severance.html

Steel sharpens steel!!! R.I.P. Sweet Pea...a.k.a. "The Blueprint!"

[Drew Bundini Br]

Very well stated article.

[komandante]

Rest In Peace Champ.

[NachoMan]

Good read, Cliff, but you made the mortal sin of favorably comparing a fighter to Manny Pacquiao. Prepare for death threats.

[vitali1999]

P4p ranking he's top 10 for sure maybe top 5