Pernell Whitaker vs Diosbelys Hurtado

[Pat_Lowe]

I watched this today, pretty entertaining fight. The great thing about this fight was that it showed Whitaker's heart and desire to win. Often times with really slick boxers and is that you don't really see what they've got inside, they rarely get tested or hit (ala Roy jones). Like for example some people still question Mayweather's heart and how he will react when shit starts going bad for him and he is behind on the cards. This fight showed that for Whitaker, Hurtado put him on the front foot and forced Whitaker to come to him. Whitaker looked off and a bit past his prime, he was behind on cards after 11 rounds, but he went for it and in one of the most brutal stoppages landed 10 straight right hands until Hurtado fell through the ropes.

What do others think of this fight? I think that this fight combined with the Trinidad fight showed how great Whitaker actually was, that he had the heart to fight through anything.

[ripcity]

I rember watching this fight with a sense of fusration brcause I'm a Whitaker fan and amazement because Hurtado was beating the best boxer in the world.
It was kind of like when you join a NCAA basketball turment betting pool and the heavly favored team you picked is loseing and you think to yourself fuck the money I would have won this is historical. Of course in the end Whitaker came through in the end.

[sweet_scientist]

I think the Hurtadao, DLH and Tito fights showed different sides of Whitaker's greatness.

The Hurtado fight showed that he could turn killer when need be. He never had a knockout past the 6th round in his whole career, and yet, when he needed it, he found a way to get it.

In the DLH fight, many were expecting DLH to walk right through Whitaker, just like he did with Chavez, but Whitaker showed the mental alertness and caginess to be able to befuddle a naturally bigger, stronger, faster man. That DLH wanted nothing to do with Whitaker again, despite Whitaker being past his best, speaks for itself.

If the Hurtado and DLH fights showcased Whitaker's mental toughness, the Tito fight showcased Whitaker's physical toughness. Outgunned as he was, he stood his ground and traded with Tito, and despite getting a heck of a beating, he let Trinidad know that he wasn't going to fade quietly into the night. His reaction to having his jaw broken in the 6th round was to come out in the 7th and hurt Tito to the body, following it up with some head snapping uppercuts and straight lefts.

[Sonny Carson]

I saw Hurtado in this fight and for some reason why he reminded me of Wilfredo Benitez. Of course I was wrong. He had very good defense, quick hands, and pop. Too bad his chin failed him. He wasn't a bad fighter.