Today marks the birthday of the late great Pernell Whitaker, the fifth such occasion since the all-time great southpaw was taken from us, far too soon, after being run over and killed in a car accident in 2019. Boxing will never forget the talent. and skill of the ring genius they called “Sweet Pea,” nor all the superlative performances he gave us in his remarkable Hall of Fame career.
The pain of having died so young inspires those who deeply appreciate Pernell’s gifts and accomplishments to seek ways to ensure his legacy lives on. And one way is to put his in-ring accomplishments in proper context by comparing them to his fellow champions of the 1990s. To be frank, many sports fans are well aware of the big wins of, say, Oscar De La Hoya or Evander Holyfield, while in turn not giving the same kind of credit to Whitaker. Let us try to correct it.
The key thing to remember is that in Whitaker’s case the official ledger of his professional career doesn’t tell the whole story. If you look at his record, he suffered losses to José Luis Ramírez and Oscar De La Hoya, and Julio César Chávez limited him to a draw. But the truth is that both the first fight with Ramírez and the duel with the great Chávez were clear and unilateral victories for “Sweet Pea”, blatant thefts that deserved nothing less than official investigations. And De La Hoya’s fight, a battle between a faded version of Pernell Whitaker and a “Golden Boy” in his prime, was very close, with more ringside scribes giving Pernell the win than Oscar.
This means that over the course of nearly fifteen years and 44 fights, Whitaker was, for all intents and purposes, undefeated when he stepped into the ring against Félix Trinidad in 1999. By that time, Whitaker’s edge in the game had been forever overshadowed by time and a less than perfect dedication to athletic conditioning. An aging “Sweet Pea” suffered a broken jaw and his first comprehensive loss as a professional boxer to the fists of a top-ranked Trinidad, all but closing the book on an otherwise brilliant career.
In the years since, Whitaker’s star has faded more than it should have. The misleading official ledger has something to do with this, as does the fact that Whitaker was never much of a self-promoter. Pernell was cocky and confident, but not loud or lusting for the spotlight. He was never very interested in being a celebrity, only in being what he was: one of the best and most talented athletes to ever walk through the ropes, the conqueror of Ramirez, Greg Haugen, Azumah Nelson, Freddie Pendleton, Roger Mayweather, Julio César Vásquez, Buddy McGirt and, yes, Chávez.
Sure, you can make a case for Roy Jones Jr. or Lennox Lewis, but the fact is that Whitaker faced tougher opposition than either and subdued it with relative ease and aplomb. During his heyday, roughly between 1989 and 1994, he was something close to perfect, unbeatable and rarely losing a round, let alone a competition. In short, he was the best pound-for-pound boxer of the 1990s and one of our recent greats. So he rest easy, “Sweet Pea.” He will never be forgotten. At least not if we have anything to say about it.
The 12 best boxers of the 1990s
12. Terry Norris: “Terrible” Terry was a force to be reckoned with at 154 pounds with wins over John Mugabi, Quincy Taylor, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jorge Castro, Meldrick Taylor and Donald Curry.
11. Félix Trinidad: One of Puerto Rico’s greatest champions, Tito conquered Maurice Blocker, Oba Carr, Héctor Camacho, William Joppy and Fernando Vargas, along with a controversial points victory over Oscar De La Hoya.
10. Bernard Hopkins: Some might expect “The Executioner” to rank higher here, but in fact most of his big wins took place in the 21st century. That said, during the ’90s, Hopkins was a dominant middleweight, his skills too much for Simon Brown, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson and Robert Allen.
9. Michael Carbajal: The first junior flyweight to earn a million-dollar payday, “Manitas De Piedra” was truly a “big man” of the 90s with victories over Muangchai Kittikasem, Humberto “Chiquita” González, Scotty Olson, Melchor Cob Castro. , Macario Santos and a young Jorge Arce.
8. James Toney: The roller-coaster career of the fighter they called “Lights Out” saw him score big victories in the ’90s over Michael Nunn, Reggie Johnson, Iran Barkley, Anthony Hembrick and Mike McCallum.
7. Julio César Chávez: The brave fighter from Mexico had already established himself as a great champion by the time the 1980s ended, but it was in the following decade that he scored major victories over Meldrick Taylor, Lonnie Smith, Héctor Camacho and Greg Haugen. , Terrence Alli and Tony Lopez.
6. Evander Holyfield: Cruiserweight champion in the 1980s, “The Real Deal” invaded the heavyweight division to secure physical immortality with impressive victories over Michael Dokes, Pinklon Thomas, Bert Cooper, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, Ray Mercer and Riddick Bowe.
5. Lennox Lewis: The most dominant heavyweight of the decade, Lewis was shunned by many, but that didn’t stop him from scoring victories over Holyfield, Tyson, Tommy Morrison, Oliver McCall, Frank Bruno, Ray Mercer and “Razor” Ruddock.
4. Oscar De La Hoya: Oba Carr, Héctor Camacho, Arturo Gatti, Julio César Chávez, Wilfredo Rivera, Jesse James Leija and Miguel Ángel González fell before the fists of “The Golden Boy”. He earned a controversial points victory over Whitaker in 1997.
3. Ricardo López: The numbers say it all: 21 successful title defenses, 51 victories, 38 knockouts, zero losses. Almost all of “El Finito’s” championship victories came in the 1990s.
2. Roy Jones Jr.: Bernard Hopkins, Mike McCallum, Montell Griffin, Otis Grant, James Toney, Virgil Hill and Reggie Johnson were among those who couldn’t solve the puzzle that was the unique combination of speed, talent, elusiveness and power of Jones. .
1. Pernell Whitaker: The greatest champion of the 1990s, “Sweet Pea,” may have suffered losses and draws in the record books, but serious boxing fans know that this defensive wizard was undefeated, not to mention nearly untouchable, for almost the entire decade. . Make no mistake, Pernell Whitaker is, pound for pound, the best fighter of the 1990s.
