Pernell Whitaker Dead at age 55

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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This happened right down the road from where I work. No idea why he'd be walking across that street in that area.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Nothing to add but to comment on what a glorious boxer he was to watch. Underrated, even in his excellence.
 

luckiestman

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This happened right down the road from where I work. No idea why he'd be walking across that street in that area.
Let me put that in the dossier I have on you.

It’s fucking sad man. I used to watch all of his fights on HBO. What a master.
 

Marciano490

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A great fighter who probably would’ve been even more highly rated if he hadn’t suffered so many bs decisions.
 

Mooch

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A great fighter who probably would’ve been even more highly rated if he hadn’t suffered so many bs decisions.
The Chavez draw STILL pisses me off to this day. Whitaker dominated that fight and made JCC look ridiculous most of the night.
 

Ale Xander

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I was/am not a boxing fan, but he was my co-favorite (with RJjr) of all-time. Sad day. RIP Sweet Pea
 

DJnVa

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Let me put that in the dossier I have on you.

It’s fucking sad man. I used to watch all of his fights on HBO. What a master.
He was winning titles as I finished HS and was in college in this area. He was a the hometown kid that was a fucking gold medalist and world champ. In addition to the Chavez decision, there was the earlier one against Ramirez.

And he has a great nickname, in Sweetpea. Which of course, was actually Sweet Pete, and a writer screwed it up.
 
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mwonow

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One of my all-time favorite fighters. A lot of the time, it was like he had a force field around him - opponents couldn't get through it, and if they got close, he'd knock them back outside it. Sad day.
 

Marciano490

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One of my all-time favorite fighters. A lot of the time, it was like he had a force field around him - opponents couldn't get through it, and if they got close, he'd knock them back outside it. Sad day.
Yeah, he had underrated power. He put some big names on the canvas - Oscar, Trinidad.
 

fiskful of dollars

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So sad. Great fighter. Really could have retired undefeated if not for the 2 BS decisions. I think he lost his last 2 fights but who knows if the other decisions go his way?
Hometown hero for me too. Best defensive fighter I ever saw.
 

mwonow

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Yeah, he had underrated power. He put some big names on the canvas - Oscar, Trinidad.
Actually, there's a question I've been meaning to ask you, and this is as good a time as any, I guess. Years ago, I brought up Sweetpea when talking with the son of a former Canadian heavyweight (no real prizes for guessing who, but still). He was immediately pretty dismissive, on the grounds that Whitaker was a southpaw.

Is this a 'thing' in boxing circles? Is some of a lefty's success discounted because of the hand he leads with?
 

Marciano490

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Actually, there's a question I've been meaning to ask you, and this is as good a time as any, I guess. Years ago, I brought up Sweetpea when talking with the son of a former Canadian heavyweight (no real prizes for guessing who, but still). He was immediately pretty dismissive, on the grounds that Whitaker was a southpaw.

Is this a 'thing' in boxing circles? Is some of a lefty's success discounted because of the hand he leads with?
Boxing is weirdly anachronistic. I trained in the early 2000s, and my trainer and most of the other fighters in my gym were still anti lifting and subscribed to the idea that 5 mile runs were best.

The idea is that there are fewer lefties, so they have an advantage because opponents have less experience against them. That never made much sense to me, because if you’re fighting a lefty, you get a 6-8 week camp to only spar lefties. Maybe it was different in the old days when they’d fight much more often.

I’ve never really heard a lefty discounted as a fighter because he was lefty. That’d be like shitting on Ted Williams as a hitter for the same reason.
 

mwonow

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Boxing is weirdly anachronistic. I trained in the early 2000s, and my trainer and most of the other fighters in my gym were still anti lifting and subscribed to the idea that 5 mile runs were best.

The idea is that there are fewer lefties, so they have an advantage because opponents have less experience against them. That never made much sense to me, because if you’re fighting a lefty, you get a 6-8 week camp to only spar lefties. Maybe it was different in the old days when they’d fight much more often.

I’ve never really heard a lefty discounted as a fighter because he was lefty. That’d be like shitting on Ted Williams as a hitter for the same reason.
Thanks, I figured that the lefty thing probably wasn't universal (and it seemed like a weird reason to diss a great fighter like Whitaker)
 

Marciano490

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Thanks, I figured that the lefty thing probably wasn't universal (and it seemed like a weird reason to diss a great fighter like Whitaker)
I preferred fighting lefties because my straight right was my best punch and is easier to land against them.
 

Marciano490

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Bells of War just came on my playlist. It’s kind of funny they say Whitaker got fucked up. I guess they were talking about Trinidad, but it’s odd to call that an upset or Pernell getting fucked up.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Bells of War just came on my playlist. It’s kind of funny they say Whitaker got fucked up. I guess they were talking about Trinidad, but it’s odd to call that an upset or Pernell getting fucked up.
Yeah, that was Sweetpea at the end. He was 9 years older than Trinidad who was like 26 at the time of that fight.

Another quote I saw about him was he was harder to hit than the lotto jackpot.