THE GREATNESS OF SWEET PEA [recycled]

Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whittaker came out of Norfolk, Virginia in the early 1980's He had a stellar amateur career where he won over 200 bouts and the Olympic Gold in 1984 as a lightweight. He turned pro along with several of his teammates at MSG that same year when he was 20. At only 5'6" and a 69" reach, Wittaker is small even for a lightweight. That's about the same size as Manny Pacquiao and JMM. Pete's greatest assets are his remarkable upper body movement, his elegant feet, fast hands and a remarkable understanding of ring geometry. He is not a big puncher, but he is sharp enough to make tough men think twice about coming forward. He is one of those unusual southpaws that just doesn't resemble many other fighters. He was also very well managed. He fought several guys while coming up who had already fought Camacho. In that way they had already seen some of Pete's style and made those guys more challenging.
Let's go through his early career.

John Montes-After a series of journeymen Pete steps up to fight Montes. Montes has already been in with Hilmer Kenty, Hector Camacho (a first round KO), has beaten Sergio Medina and is coming of a decision loss to former strapholder Cornelius Boza Edwards. He will go on to beat Freddie Pendleton. Sweet Pea shuts him out.

Rafael Williams-Another guy who has been in with Camacho as well as Livingstone Bramble. has the career of a competent journeyman. He knocks Pete down. Pete by UD.

Alfredo Layne-The former 130 linear champ KO'd HOFer Wilfredo Gomez in one of boxing's all-time upsets. He came back to earth in his last fight and was KO'd by HOFer Brian Mitchell. Pete by dominant decision.

Roger Mayweather-The former 130 and future 140 and 147 strapholder is Whittaker's foray into the major leagues. Mayweather has already beaten the great Sammy Serrano and Kenny Baysmore. he has lost to JCC and Rocky Lockridge. This is a good, hard fight. Sweet Pea by UD. Now the championship years begin. In his 16th pro fight Pete goes for a strap.

Jose Luis Ramirez-The #4 ranked lightweight in the world fights out of France and has wins over HOFer Edwin Rosario, Terrence Ali, Cornelius Boza Edwards as well as losses to HOFer's Alexis Arguello (where he knocked Alexis down), Rosario, Camacho and Ray Mancini. He is a well traveled and well schooled fighter in his second defense. Watching this fight from Paris as it happened I thought that while Ramirez set the pace and chased all night long, that Sweet Pea dominated the action. Ramirez by controversial decision.

Greg Haugan-Haugan also holds a 135 strap as is Ranked #3. He has split with Vinny Pazienza and beaten strapholder Jimmy Paul, Freddie Roach and Edwin Curet. He will later go on to beat Camacho and Ray Mancini and will be JCC's whipping boy in front of 132,000 of his countrymen. Haugan is rugged and tough. Pete drops him and doesn't lose a round to win his first belt.

Louis Lomeli-The ranked contender has handed #5 John DuPlessis his first loss. but this is a mismatch. Pete TKO3.

Ramirez II-Now a title unification fight in Whittaker's hometown and Pete simply schools him. Two judges have it a shutout. Pete UD.

Freddie Pendleton-The #3 contender is only 24-16, but he's come up through the ranks learning his craft. He's beaten Livingstone Bramble and will go on to win a strap at 135. Pete by UD.

Azumah Nelson-HOFer and all-time great is the top 130 on the planet. The Professor has lost only to Salvador Sanchez has KO'd Wilfredo Gomez and has defended 126 and 130 straps a total of 10 times. He is in his prime and moves up to face Whittaker. In a spirited fight Azumah races after Sweet Pea for 12 rounds, never slowing down and never discouraged. He land some very good punches but not enough to win more than 4-5 rounds. Pete's ring generalship is extraordinary. At one point Pete gets Azumah in a headlock under his right arm and before the ref calls break, Pete reaches behind his back with his left arm and playfully pops Azumah on the head. A classy, high-level display by both men. Pete by UD.

Jaun Nazario-Holds the only 135 strap Whittaker doesn't which he won from Edwin Rosario. Nazario is ranked #4. How badly does the famously light punching Whittaker want to be the man? Whittaker KO1!

Anthony Jones-ranked #6 will go on to hand Vince Phillips his first lost. Ho hum, another shutout.

Policarpo Diaz-Unbeaten Euro Champ and #5 ranked. Ho Hum, another shutout.

Jorge Paez-The former 126 strapholder has been moving up and for one of the few times in Whittaker's career he is the bigger man in the ring. paez has beaten Stevie Cruz and Calvin Grove and lost to Tony Lopez. Paez puts up a very good fight. Pete UD. Whittaker after eight defenses and unifying the division moves up.

Rafael Pineda-A top 5 ranked 140 and a strapholder, Pineda has lost only to Mark Breland trying for a belt at 147. He defeated Roger Mayweather for the 140 strap. Pete whips him by decision and moves to welterweight.

Buddy McGirt-Buddy is the #1 ranked welterweight in the world and holds a strap. he has beaten then #1 Simon Brown, #4 Genaro Leon, Howard Davis Jr and Euro Champ Patrizio Oliva. His losses are to Meldrick Taylor and unbeaten Frankie Warren (avenged). I didn't think the fight was as close as the judges did. Buddy was a pro, Sweet Pea was great. Pete by UD. They would do it again two years later when Buddy is ranked #4 and this time Whittaker dominates the action, again by UD.

Julio Cesar Chavez-The All-time great is 87-0 and the #1 140 in the world. He has won belts at 130, 135 and 140 and will win a belt at 140 again. This fight marks the end of Chavez greatest days. At 147 he can't move like he could at 135 and he becomes a straight stalker. It isn't enough. In San Antonio in front of Chavez die hards, Whittaker dominates an ATG offensive force...and gets a draw. A horrible decision and the silence of the crowd as the fight went on was a better measure of what happened. This may have been Pete's greatest night.

Julio Cesar Vasquez-After the second McGirt fight, Whittaker moves up to 154 for a single fight. Vasquez is the #1 ranked 154 in the world and a strapholder. He has beaten Winky Wright, Aaron Superman Davis and will go on to win another strap at 154. Sweet Pea just dominates him.
Jake Rodriguez-A two time 140 strapholder and #3 ranked moves up. He is never in the fight. Pete TKO6.

I think this is the last time we see Sweet Pea at his peak. I can't prove it, but from here on in I suspect now at 31 his lifestyle begins to take an increasing toll on him and his performances begin to fall off markedly.

Wilfredo Rivera-The #7 ranked 147 in the world is a BIG welter at 5"11 with a 72 inch reach. It seems clear that Whittaker just didn't prepare well, as this is the kind of fighter Pete used to shut out. The fight is VERY close and while Pete wins a split decision a rematch is called for. In the second fight Pete is better, but still struggles with Rivera and wins a razor thin UD.

Diobelys Hurtado-Another huge welterweight. At this point Hurtado is unbeaten. He will go on to win a 140 strap. There are two shocking things in this fight. First, after ten rounds Whittaker is being outboxed and he is behind, he needs something big to happen and second he stalks and knocks out Hurtado with about seven consecutive left hands. The obviously fading skills are balanced with the never flagging ring IQ and heart one more time.

Oscar De La Hoya-Boxing's crown prince is unbeaten, has won straps at 130, 135, 140 and now moves to 147. Whittaker actually looks better in this fight than he has in quite a while. He jabs and jabs and jabs. Oscar gets some shots in and Pete knocks him down (sort of) in the tenth round. Pete strangely clowns around late in what seems to be a very close fight. I had it a draw. But none of the judges even had it close. Oscar by UD for Whittaker'second defeat.

Sweet Pea will win one more fight then will lose the victory as he tests positive for cocaine. In 1999 at age 35, unbeaten Felix Trinidad will shut Whittaker out and knock him down in the process. It is the first time I saw Pete decisively beaten.

Whittaker retires 40-4, with wins over a HOFer, a draw with another that will always be perceived as a great victory, a disputed loss to another and a decisive loss to a fourth. He was THE MAN at 135 and wrecked the division with 8 defenses. He defeated the #1 man at 140 and the #1 man at 154. At 147 he beats the #1 man and defends another 8 times. He is ranked the p4p best in the world for three years, the #2 for another three years and #3 for another two years.

In my view Sweet Pea is one of the 20 most accomplished fighters in the history of the sport.

its worth reading a second time.wonderfull review of the career of a true artist in the ring and a great fighter.

I have lived in Virginia all but one year of my 33 years. Pea has always been one of my favorite fighters.

The Chavez fight is a travesty that still burns to this day.

captainanddew wrote:I have lived in Virginia all but one year of my 33 years. Pea has always been one of my favorite fighters.

The Chavez fight is a travesty that still burns to this day.

I just don't know what fight they were watching. If I gave the benefit of every possible doubt to Chavez? It is 7-5 Sweet Pea. I just don't know where the sixth round could possibly be let alone more than that.

I tried to watch the fight again about 10 years ago and score it for the first time since the fight occurred. After about 5 rounds I got ticked off and had to turn it off.

Funny thing about Pea for me, was even with his relationship with Evander, I wanted him to lose his whole career. I know, it was strange, but I didnt enjoy the guy. However, once he got late in his career, he became one of my favorite fighters. I could not deny his greatness any longer. he was TRULY amazing.

boxinglawyer wrote: Funny thing about Pea for me, was even with his relationship with Evander, I wanted him to lose his whole career. I know, it was strange, but I didnt enjoy the guy. However, once he got late in his career, he became one of my favorite fighters. I could not deny his greatness any longer. he was TRULY amazing.

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!

Please stick around. There's only about 20 of us thus far but not an asshole in the bunch.

I think it's fair to say guys like Sweet Pea, Pep and Iron Boy are kind of an acquired taste.

I plan on sticking around, its just a very, very busy time for me. I find very little time to actually post, though I lurk a lot.

boxinglawyer wrote: I plan on sticking around, its just a very, very busy time for me. I find very little time to actually post, though I lurk a lot.

Busy is good. Gonna be a big next two months.

Please do come around when you can. Nice to have a knowledgeable fellow and fellow attorney on the board.

yes lawyer im glad your lurking happier when you post..busy can mean the cash register rings often.good for you.

I have a feeling that Pea's legacy is going to fade away with time. I can't think of anyone more accomplished from his time to the present. There are so few impossibly talented guys who manage to fulfill their potential.

Gumby wrote:I have a feeling that Pea's legacy is going to fade away with time. I can't think of anyone more accomplished from his time to the present. There are so few impossibly talented guys who manage to fulfill their potential.

Man I hope not. In my view Pete is the most accomplished fighter of the past 25 years.

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Gumby wrote:I have a feeling that Pea's legacy is going to fade away with time. I can't think of anyone more accomplished from his time to the present. There are so few impossibly talented guys who manage to fulfill their potential.

Man I hope not. In my view Pete is the most accomplished fighter of the past 25 years.

I think boxing analysts and writers like Max Kellerman and Dougie Fisher will beat the Pea drum for many years to come. That isn't enough though.

Work has to be done. It is sad that a fighter as good as Whitaker will need boxing diehards like us to try to educate any fight fans we can about his greatness. He fought in the 80s and 90s!!!!

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Gumby wrote:I have a feeling that Pea's legacy is going to fade away with time. I can't think of anyone more accomplished from his time to the present. There are so few impossibly talented guys who manage to fulfill their potential.

Man I hope not. In my view Pete is the most accomplished fighter of the past 25 years.

I think boxing analysts and writers like Max Kellerman and Dougie Fisher will beat the Pea drum for many years to come. That isn't enough though.

Work has to be done. It is sad that a fighter as good as Whitaker will need boxing diehards like us to try to educate any fight fans we can about his greatness. He fought in the 80s and 90s!!!!

I don't want to start the wrong kind of squabble but THIS is a place where misunderstanding Floyd Mayweather's career really hurts another's legacy. I see people calling Floyd the greatest defensive fighter in history. And he proved that against who exactly? An older Oscar? Chico? Sweet Pea made offensive legends like Chavez and Azumah look ordinary. Now could Floyd have done the same thing? maybe. But guessing and doing aren't the same thing. I'd argue that Buddy McGirt, when Pete dismantled him the first time, was a better fighter than anyone Floyd has beaten WHEN and AT THE WEIGHT at which he beat them. And Buddy is no better than Sweet Pea's third best win in my view. Anyway...

marbleheadmaui wrote:

captainanddew wrote:

marbleheadmaui wrote:

Gumby wrote:I have a feeling that Pea's legacy is going to fade away with time. I can't think of anyone more accomplished from his time to the present. There are so few impossibly talented guys who manage to fulfill their potential.

Man I hope not. In my view Pete is the most accomplished fighter of the past 25 years.

I think boxing analysts and writers like Max Kellerman and Dougie Fisher will beat the Pea drum for many years to come. That isn't enough though.

Work has to be done. It is sad that a fighter as good as Whitaker will need boxing diehards like us to try to educate any fight fans we can about his greatness. He fought in the 80s and 90s!!!!

I don't want to start the wrong kind of squabble but THIS is a place where misunderstanding Floyd Mayweather's career really hurts another's legacy. I see people calling Floyd the greatest defensive fighter in history. And he proved that against who exactly? An older Oscar? Chico? Sweet Pea made offensive legends like Chavez and Azumah look ordinary. Now could Floyd have done the same thing? maybe. But guessing and doing aren't the same thing. I'd argue that Buddy McGirt, when Pete dismantled him the first time, was a better fighter than anyone Floyd has beaten WHEN and AT THE WEIGHT at which he beat them. And Buddy is no better than Sweet Pea's third best win in my view. Anyway...

+1. And I'm a big Floyd fan.

+1. And I'm a big Floyd fan.[/quote]

Gumby-nobody's perfect!!! I kid.

I used to be a big-time Floyd fan. Then I woke up. I'll start wearing you down with facts and analysis and by the end of this year I'll have you convinced!!!!


The game is afoot!!!!!