Whitaker kindly agreed to speak about the best fighters he fought in his career in 10 categories.
BEST JAB
Buddy McGirt: I didn’t really get hit with them jabs. I tried to keep guys on defense. That was one of my best assets. That’s where I start off at, using the jab and being constant, keeping my jab out there. I think every fighter should have a good jab; a good jab could take you a long way. Of the guys I fought I would say Buddy McGirt had the best jab.
BEST DEFENSE
Azumah Nelson: (Laughs) That’s a tough one because it never took me long to get to anybody. But if I picked someone, I would say Azumah Nelson. I don’t think nobody on this planet had a better defense than I did. There are a lot of fighters with good defense but not like Pernell Whitaker.
BEST CHIN
McGirt: Had a pretty good chin. It’s kind of hard to say who had a good chin. I liked hitting to the body; I liked to work from the body up. McGirt took a good punch.
BEST PUNCHER
Julio Cesar Chavez: Everybody I’ve been in the ring with was considered a big puncher. The one who stands out the most would be Julio Cesar Chavez. I didn’t experience any big shots. I don’t like taking punches.
FASTEST HANDS
Oscar De La Hoya: I made all these fights so easy, it’s hard to say who had the better hand speed. I consider all of them being great, they just weren’t quicker than I was, though I would say Oscar De La Hoya had good hand speed. They start off with speed but by the time I break ’em down, the speed’s over.
FASTEST FEET
Diosbelys Hurtado: I didn’t have a problem with anybody. All the fighters I fought were good fighters. It’s hard to give credit when you make guys look so bad all the time. I would say Diosbelys Hurtado had good feet. Like I say I just went in there and took fighters out of their fight game, turn them into being ordinary fighters.
SMARTEST
All of them: All of the guys I fought were smart fighters; I was just a little smarter. Chavez was pretty smart, De La Hoya was a pretty smart kid, McGirt, I fought him twice, he was a veteran. I don’t have no favorite.
STRONGEST
Nelson: I didn’t give anybody the opportunity to punch. I tried to be the complete boxer. I outboxed all off them. The one that comes to mind is Azumah Nelson. He was a strong guy. He just kept coming forward.
BEST SKILLS
Chavez: [He] was just a good fighter. He had great boxing skills, he was a big puncher, you had to be careful. You don’t get caught up with him, going toe to toe.
BEST OVERALL
Nelson: I liked Azumah Nelson. He kept on coming, he never gives up, he hung in there.
at him calling tito one dimensional
..chalk it up to ex fighter babble..bruh has a 47-26-5 record..he prolly says lots of things out of his control now lol
