In the last few weeks we have seen Felix Trinidad beaten for the first time in his career and Pernell Whittaker be on the end of a poor decision in a fight he seemed to win handsomely.
These two great modern welterweights clashed in February 1999 for Trinidad’s IBF world title. The dynamite punching power of Trinidad matched up mouthwateringly with the defensive genius of Whittaker, who would have the edge?
Trinidad was 26 years old, unbeaten with a record of 33 wins, no losses and 29 knockouts. Whittaker was 35 years old with a record of 40 wins, 2 losses with 1 draw and 1 no contest and 17 wins by knockout.
Round 1 was very much a reconnaissance mission for both fighters which is not surprising as there was a lot riding on this fight. As with most fights in which an orthodox fighter squares off against a southpaw both want to find their range and have a good look before fully engaging. Both pugilists looked to get their jab going to measure their opponent, both landed about the same, leaving very little to choose between them both. As the round drew to a close Whittaker looked to land with his back hand which drew a sharp left hook right hand response from Trinidad, both missed but the fighters were settling in. I called this round a draw.
Round 2 began with Whittaker taking the urgency up a notch. He was looking for whipping counters to the liver of Trinidad, the Puerto Rican was answering with sharp right hand counters of his own. They came together in the clinch early in the round where Whittaker showed his strength and dancing feet to spin Trinidad round when it looked like he was the one out of position. Whittaker was looking to go forward at every opportunity which was surprising given his reputation as a defensive savant. Trinidad was being forced into the counter puncher role due to his opponent’s aggression. With 30 seconds to go in the round Whittaker was standing in front of the taller rangier opponent and Trinidad uncorked a sharp right hand lead which sat Whittaker down. He didn’t seem too hurt by the shot rather he was caught off balance by the speed of it. He was ready to get it back immediately and the referee had to make him reset after he had a brief word with his corner. Whittaker was seemingly over excited and a bit unfocused and as such was making mistakes. They re-engaged and ended up in the clinch with Whittaker looking to land hurtful punches but losing his balance as a result. The bell went and an agitated Whittaker hopped, skipped and jumped back to the corner. 10-8 round for Trinidad.
Round 3 started with the punch stats of the previous two rounds, Whittaker had thrown 43 more punches and landed 17 more however his aggression was leaving openings, would he settle into his counter punching game or continue with this high risk high reward strategy of taking it to the power puncher? Early on in the round Whittaker was again back to pressing the action but trying to be more elusive. Their feet were getting tangled up which is common with an open side engagement in which one fighter is orthodox and the other southpaw. Both had success jabbing in this round, Whittaker was able to get to Trinidad’s body over and over with the whipping left hands he liked to throw from close range. Trinidad was having most of his success on both the lead and counter from mid to long range, he had quite the reach advantage and was using it well strafing Whittaker from a range where he couldn’t be hit. This was a pretty even round with both having success, I’ll give it a draw.
Round 4 was a scrappy round in which both had success. Whittaker due to his squat stance and excellent head movement was doing his best work in close, he continually reached for Trinidad’s far hip and looked to set up an advantageous angle from which to work. The referee like so many modern refs however was seemingly repulsed by any in-fighting and looked to break them immediately which was great for Trinidad. The Puerto Rican was again doing his best work from mid and long range, his vaunted left hook was being smothered by Whittaker’s southpaw stance but his jab and right hand were working well. At the end of the round Whittaker slipped and looked distractedly to his corner, something appeared to be bothering him. This round was very close, I’ll edge it for Trinidad.
Round 5 saw Trinidad start to throw more and more right hand leads, he seemed to be settling into the fight where Whittaker was looking increasingly uncomfortable. Trinidad was also coming forward a lot more taking a half step back so Whittaker’s offence would drop short before launching long straight punches. As the round continued Whittaker slipped off of a punch which was called a no knockdown which he was very lucky to go his way. Whatever that decision, this round was Trinidad’s.
Round 6 saw more of Trinidad looking the boss in the fight, he was keeping a very disciplined approach of firing off just 1’s and 2’s so as to not give counter opportunities to the tricky Whittaker. A counter left hook off of a Whittaker jab seemed to buckle the knees momentarily, Trinidad was in a great rhythm of seeing everything and landing clean shots. Whittaker was starting to look his 35 years in there and was getting hit more than most were used to seeing. Trinidad’s round comfortably.
Round 7 began with Trinidad falling to the canvas after his feet got tangled up. Whittaker was stepping to his right a lot in this round, landing to the body and throwing uppercuts through the centre before exiting with his slick head movement. He seemed to have found his rhythm this round with Trinidad’s own offence taking a dip. As the round drew to a close Trinidad perhaps sensing this stepped up his offence but he was unable to do enough to take back the round. Whittaker’s round.
Round 8 saw Trinidad attempt to wrest back control of the fight, he was coming forward looking strong and commanding as he took it to Whittaker. Early on in the round Whittaker went down, it was called a slip however I couldn’t help but notice how embarrassed he looked and how he was looking around at the crowd not as focused on Trinidad as Hopkins had been a few weeks back. Trinidad was landing hard and often in this round, he had the range and it seemed Whittaker was diminished by the end of a ferocious 3 minutes. Whittaker appeared stunned several times but showed championship grit to avoid taking another count especially after eating a clean left uppercut. Big round for Trinidad.
Round 9 saw Whittaker back to his excellent 7th round tactics, he was circling right and jabbing well avoiding Trinidad’s long right hand. With his excellent quick feet and tricky movement he was able to avoid the big puncher forcing him to keep readjusting his feet. Later in the round he was also finding a home for his right hook to Trinidad’s body and getting out the way before any return punches could find him. Trinidad was having some success with his jab in this round but the power punches were mostly from Whittaker. Whittaker’s round for me, for him to take this round after the shots he took in the previous round, was remarkable.
Round 10 Trinidad was able to keep Whittaker more in front of him this round using effective stalking foot work by shadowing him and not following him around the ring. He was also using more double jabs this round which was keeping Whittaker at Trinidad’s preferred distance making it difficult to score with those right hooks to the body from the previous round. Trinidad owned the territory in this round forcing Whittaker to the ropes and corners, in the last 30 seconds he was forced down to the mat in the corner which could easily have been called a knockdown. Whittaker got back to his feet but had the air of a defeated fighter, Trinidad by contrast was oozing confidence and focus, he finished the round strongly and took this round.
Round 11 started with a startling stat, the 20 fight average of punch connections landed on Whittaker was a meagre 28%, tonight against Trinidad it was at 54%. At that punch connection rate the usually can’t be touched Whittaker was getting hit often by a massive puncher for the weight. This round Trinidad made good use of the southpaw killer the right hand lead, he was throwing it straight and true with no wind up and it was catching Whittaker often. Whittaker knew he was down on the cards and he was doing his best to step to Trinidad but that was not his strength and Trinidad was cognizant of this and used his evasive footwork to keep him behind his long straight punches. Whittaker was able to get to the body a few times however Trinidad answered with hurtful shots to the body of his own. As the round drew to a close Trinidad moved forward with more purpose strafing Whittaker with shots, one went low but they continued to the bell. Trinidad’s round.
Round 12 and here we are in the final round, Whittaker came out looking to circle to his right and jab Trinidad and drop the occasional left hand to the liver. For the most part it seemed this round was going the way of Whittaker, he did however get caught in the corner again and tried to slip punches with his backside an inch or two above the ring apron. This seemed indicative of the clowning Whittaker who was trying to make a point even though he was well behind on the cards. This to me spoke to a lack of focus which was not present in his fight with Chavez we watched a few weeks back. Trinidad seemed happy enough to box his way to the final bell, he had boxed great, implementing a limited amount of tools to nullify Whittaker’s great asset, his defensive slickness. The bell sounded and Trinidad had cemented himself as a bonafide star and a mega fight against WBC champion Oscar De La Hoya beckoned. Whittaker at the age of 35 had been soundly beaten for the first time in his career, his slicker than slick quickness seemed to be declining which spelled the end of an illustrious career.
It strikes me that this fight was the puncher versus the mover, however the mover came out trying to be the puncher early on, if Whittaker had started out by stepping to his right and being crafty would the result have been different? We will never know.
Whittaker only fought one more time, losing over two years later by stoppage to an unheralded opponent. He finished with a record of 40 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw and 1 no contest. He died in 2019 after being hit by a car at the age of 55, far too young! Trinidad would later that year meet De La Hoya in a money fight which he controversially won, he then vaulted up to Super welterweight and became a two weight world champion before vaulting up again to win a championship at a third weight of middleweight.
What did you think?
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