Pernell witaker v Roberto Duran,lightweight,at their peak,last man standing??

Question

over to you fellas,great match up of these legendary fighters.

Answer 1

I view this from a very realistic point of view.  If Roberto Duran is the greatest lightweight of all time that means no one can beat him at that weight right?   Wrong.

Duran IS the greatest lightweight champion of all.  That distinction once went to Benny Leonard.  I can remember arguing with a bunch of old geezers that Duran was better.  None of them agreed.  Now many of those who picked Leonard over Duran are dead so Duran reings supreme.

Duran, along with Ali, Marciano and Sugar Ray Robinson, to name a few, is one of those fighters almost NO ONE wants to admit could lose a fight.   We want to believe NO ONE can KO him,  NO ONE can survive the distance and win.

Could Prime Ali lose a fight?  Sure its possible,  just not likely.  But it could happen.  Even the BEST has a few weaknesses.

I can tell you from the start,  Duran would NOT KO Whttaker.  Edwin Viruet and others extended a prime Duran because he always had trouble with mobil boxers.  Duran COULD get a decision over Wittaker but would it be an accurate one?  Remember the ROBBERY against Chavez, and the BIGGER ROBBERY against Ramirez?  Duran might just do a little better than either of them and win a close decision.  

If anyone could go the distance with a prime Duran, and win a decision, its Wittaker.  He would keep Duran off balance all night long.  Add the fact that he's a southpaw and Duran has his hands full.  

The fight would not go the full distance without Duran having his measure of success.  As possible as it is that Wittaker could win a decision,  it is also equally as possible for Duran to do enough to win a close one.  Wittaker was clearly ROBBED against two fighters whom Duran would be given an edge over,  Chavez and Ramirez.  Im sure many would agree that Duran would not have a clear edge over prime Chavez.  

Overall I give the edge to Duran.  However I will say that he could lose a rematch. Because their styles differ so drastically, neither would enjoy a clear advantage over the other.  It would really boil down to intangiables because each man could stop the other from doing what he does best.  

In most cases judges favor aggressive fighters.  This is why Wittaker lost some close ones during his career.  In a series of 3 fights Duran would win 2.  All would be close decisions and there would always be questions as to who really won.

In one battle

Duran by split decision

Answer 2

thumbs up to blogbaba :

duran by decision at lightweight, but at welter, it would be much closer, with possibly whitaker edging it.

Answer 3

I'd go with Duran.  He was stronger and had devastating power on both fists.  He'll outmuscle, outhustle and outpunch Whitaker en rout to a KO win in 8.

Answer 4

At welter weight Pernel would have had a slight edge, but 12 lbs. lighter at 135 Duran would have been too strong.  Whitaker is one of my favorite boxers, and an all time great in his own right, but the above answer is correct, Duran really was the best light weight of all time.

Answer 5

Duran was a heck of a fighter however he could easily be frustrated by slick boxers.   I think Sweat Pea would have made Duran miss & then hit him & do little crowd pleasing things that would have made Duran mad & he would have been out of his game & Pernell would have won a unanimous decision.   Probably easy.   Pernell during his prime was never defeated he was robbed a few times especially in the draw with Chavez & the loss to De La Hoya.   The only legitimate defeat I saw him take was late in his career to Felix Trinidad.   He was one of the greatest!!!

Answer 6

Thumbs up to Blogbaba.  Yes I also believe that Duran was the greatest lightweight in boxing history and that the fight would have been more in Whitaker's favor at welterweight.  I believe that Duran who was also a pretty darn clever boxer and counter puncher himself with great power would have dominated the defensive minded Whitaker.  He would have effectively cut off the ring and landed some good shots.  Whitaker would hold his own being the great fighter he was and box Duran effectively.  I believe that Duran would land the more telling blows and come away with a close hard earned decision victory.

Answer 7

If Sugar Ray could out-cute and frustrate Hands of Stone in their famous "No Mas" fight, then Sweet Pea would school him.

Whitaker UD12

Answer 8

How many rounds?

Very tough call. Pernell was one of the slickest fighters ever and Duran was an animal at lightweight. As hard as Pernell was to hit he fought in an era when there weren't many great lightweights. He never fought Camacho or Bramble in their primes, Rosario who could bang with the best of them, and by the time Pernell got to Chavez, Chavez he was already on his way down, eveidenced by his surprising loss a few months later to Frankie Randall. Nevertheless, Pea was as slippery as a wet bar of soap. Duran was, like I said, an animal at lightweight and would have brought into the ring many advantages over Pernell, height, size, strength, punching power, ferocity, and an underrated defense. I see this fight boring at times with Sweet Pea making Duran miss and making Duran angrier as the fight went along. Aside from Duran-Leonard II, Duran usually stepped it up for those kinds of fights i.e Esteban DeJesus (second fight), Ray Lampkin.....so, trailing after 9, I see Duran coming on strong to hurt Pernell badly in rounds 10 and 11, and closing strong to win a razor-thin 12 round decision.

Answer 9

Duran, simply because he is the greatest lightweight at all time, he'd dominate Pernell

Answer 10

Probably one of the toughest fights to pick ever, both guys were at their best at 130 and two of the best EVER at any weight- you could see Whitaker finding a way to outbox him, but he would be facing the type of pressure that had never really been seen before of since.

I have to go with Duran, staying on top of him, just sort of mauling him for the duration - clearly he'd eat a lot of shots in return, but he would wear on Sweat Pea.  Whitakers toughness and chin are way underrrated, so this would go the distance (even with Duran's power).  

I'd say Duran by close, close, UD12 or 15.

Answer 11

If it is last man standing, then there's no question, Duran would be like the knight in the Life of Brian. If it was over 15 rounds, Whittaker would have driven Duran to the point of distraction and beaten him unanimously. I would not want to watch it - in either case!

Although Whittaker was technically gifted and fought good fighters, I always felt as though I should like him more than I ever did, I can't explain it other than to say that his fights made think of instructional films.