Who would have beaten a prime Whitaker?

[donnydarkoIRL]

[

Leonard not big enough. Pep no where near the offense to pull it off. And Tszyu way to one-dimensional for Whitaker.

I'll definitely go along with the first two and I can see where you're coming from with Tszyu.
But he was a great slick am- he could have (and should've) called on those skills more in the pros.

WTF ? the guy got stopped by vince phillips when he was in his prime !
no way in the world he beats SWEETPEA and i mean no way.

Styles make fights I think.
Philips was far from a great fighter, but he was incredibly physical and in great condition. Although not in the same class I feel that Phillips pressure is something that Pernell couldn't have [pulled off and I see a distinct possibility that Pernell is caught in between a slip/roll/reflex defence. Remember Kostya had frightening power.

[Ant Live]

I remember when Gatti was fighting Floyd. Whitaker was cheering hard for Gatti to a point that I might think, Whitaker don't like Floyd. Floyd's best performance ever!!!

One think about Floyd we all have to agree on, Floyd is relax and compose in the ring. The little dancing that Whitaker use to do that made his opponent try to load up on, Floyd will never do. "Take this laser jab all night!"

Floyd by MD

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Shane Mosley at lightweight or welterweight, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, maybe Aaaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello.

Only the best of the best.

Oh and Ricky Hatton of course

Only thing Hatton beats Whitaker in is a gravy drink off. Whitaker whips his ass in a boxing fight and a snorting contest

Notice the wink after I said it ?

I was joking. Obviously.

This icon "" would be more appropriate for it imo.

Really? See I always think it's appropriate to pull a face like when being a smart-arse.

Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Shane Mosley at lightweight or welterweight, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, maybe Aaaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello.

Only the best of the best.

Oh and Ricky Hatton of course

Only thing Hatton beats Whitaker in is a gravy drink off. Whitaker whips his ass in a boxing fight and a snorting contest

Notice the wink after I said it ?

I was joking. Obviously.

I know. Just wanted to get the gravy drink off comment in

See!

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

I think the great thing about Pernell (or should I say 'the thing that defines his greatness') is that absolutely NO fighter (at 135/ 140) beats him 5/5... probably not even 3/3.

He's that good.

[generalbulldog]

I think the great thing about Pernell (or should I say 'the thing that defines his greatness') is that absolutely NO fighter (at 135/ 140) beats him 5/5... probably not even 3/3.

He's that good.

I agree at 135 to 140 I really don't see anyone in the 2 division's history can beat prime Whitaker.

At 147 the big welterweights like Leonard and Hearns would be suitable candidates to beat him, but even then I don't see them knocking him out or flat out dominating Whitaker, the guy's defense and boxing skills were too good.

And Tszyu doesn't have smarts or all around ability to beat Whitaker at 140 imo. Knocking out Zab Judah another southpaw and trying to knockout prime Whitaker are entirely 2 different things.

[Mr140]

I don't think that whitaker was to out of prime when Dela Hoya fought him.

[chinchekked]

I don't think that whitaker was to out of prime when Dela Hoya fought him.

Yes he was, unfortunately drugs were beginninng to play a role with his performances around this time. Still was very good but definitely not prime

[chinchekked]

I remember when Gatti was fighting Floyd. Whitaker was cheering hard for Gatti to a point that I might think, Whitaker don't like Floyd. Floyd's best performance ever!!!

One think about Floyd we all have to agree on, Floyd is relax and compose in the ring. The little dancing that Whitaker use to do that made his opponent try to load up on, Floyd will never do. "Take this laser jab all night!"

Floyd by MD

Not being argumentative but the reason that Whitaker was rooting for Gatti was because they were friends who sometimes trained together in Va Beach, Virginia. Whitaker attempted to make Gatti use his boxing ability more and incorporate that deep knee bend that Whitaker was so effective at using to get out of the way of punches. Just a little info I thought you might be interested in, also in case if you doubt the accuracy of this post I am sure you can google it or look at Gatti's fights with Robinson because it is mentioned briefly in the HBO commentary because at one point both Gatti and Robinson were in a Whitaker training camp at the same time.