Over the years, we have seen some tragic twists of fate befall a great fighter, with their lives being taken. It could be argued that no such fate was as cruel as the one that met the sublime Pernell Whitaker on this day five years ago. Whitaker, known as “Sweet Pea” during his quite excellent ring career, was hit by a vehicle as he attempted to cross a road in his native Virginia on Sunday, July 14th, 2019. Whitaker, who had thrilled fans and admirers of The Sweet Science as he had bamboozled some superb fighters, died at the scene.
It was a dreadful way for anyone to go out, much less a ringmaster who meant so much to millions. Today had he lived, had cruel fate not been awaiting him (if you believe in such), Pernell would have been a still-young 60 years of age. And Whitaker would have/could have made some fine boxing commentator, or maybe he would have stuck at it as a trainer, with him finding gold. We will never know.
But we know all about the genius displays of hitting and not getting hit Whitaker put on during his career. A dazzling amateur, Whitaker was part of the talent-rich Olympic squad that dominated in L. In 1984, Whitaker won lightweight gold. As a pro, Whitaker was a genuine and absolute master, as his wins over fellow greats/good ones proved: Greg Haugen, Roger Mayweather, Jose Luis Ramirez (in both fights, despite what the awful scorecards suggested in the first fight between these two, Pernell won both more than handily), Freddie Pendleton, Azumah Nelson, Jorge Paez, Rafael Pineda, James “Buddy” McGirt (twice), Julio Cesar Vasquez………..and Julio Cesar Chavez.
To this day, the “draw” between Whitaker and Chavez in September of 1993 is one of the worst decisions ever captured on film. To say Whitaker outboxed, out-sped, and even embarrassed the greatest fighter in Mexican history is to utter an understatement. Whitaker never got his more-than-deserved rematch. Chavez didn’t want to try and figure out that bag of tricks a second time, having failed so frustratingly at the first attempt.
Whitaker, still the welterweight king, moved on and he made some title retentions, while Pernell also moved up to win a belt at 154 pounds, this a way too high poundage for him, with a win over Vasquez; this win making Whitaker a four-weight world champion. It wasn’t until April of 1997 after he had made a quite impressive eight successful defenses of his 147-pound crown, that Whitaker was at least close to being legitimately defeated. That said, plenty of fans think, to this day, that the decision that Oscar De La Hoya was awarded after 12 tough and tricky rounds with a 33-year-old Whitaker was unjust.
Once again, Whitaker and his astonishing skills pushed a brilliant fighter to the limit. Once again, a fight that would have been more than worthy of a rematch never saw one. So Whitaker moved on, with the now past his best version of “Sweet Pea” being handed an absolute defeat by the murderous-punching Felix Trinidad. Whitaker managed to hang tough in losing via wide decision.
Now 40-3-1, Whitaker, aged 37, had one more fight that resulted in a stoppage loss to Carlos Bojorquez; Whitaker suffered a busted clavicle. This was the only stoppage loss Whitaker would ever suffer.
Some say, with much conviction, that Whitaker has to rank in any top 5 greatest ever defensive fighters list. Indeed, at his best – and Whitaker remained at or close to untouchable for around an entire decade – Whitaker was a joy to watch and a complete nightmare to fight.
Today, we fans miss Pernell. He should still be here, involved, in some capacity or another, in the sport he made look quite beautiful. Whitaker holds a unique place in the hearts of boxing fans.
