Parnell Whittaker - Have the greatest Footwork of all time ??

If I did a list of the greatest pressure fighters of alltime Chavez and Nelson would be on it...Amazing how a fighter can disarm both of them with very few marks to show for it....Even a passed it Pernell gave a prime great DelaHoya nightmares...

Haugen..Mcgirt...Both quality and outclassed..

Out of all the amazing wins of the last 40 years the Whittaker masterclass against Nelson remains under the radar...Watch Nelson v Cowdell or any 130 pound defence and his amazing ability to make fighters work without doing anything and then smashing up knackered fighters later...The perfect pressure machine...Then watch him struggle against sweet pea because he couldn't nail him down..In..out..turn around..shake it all about....No one did the cross step..Pivot and roll away better than this guy.

Ray Robinson fans may disagree and what wonderful feet he had but how many wars was he in...Would LaMotta as a lightweight with the same skill set do a better job of getting near or trying to than Mcgirt..Chavez or Nelson ??..

Not sure....Robbo was better in other depts than Pernell...More power for sure..Better chin...

Better all round fighter perhaps...More exciting for sure...Perhaps a need to entertain did get him in the trenches more ??..No TV slots back then..

For me though if any fighter in history had better feet than Pernell haven't seen them...Whittaker didn't need a great defence because he was gone already..

I'd put Floyd up there in a defensive sense. Whitaker I can appreciate but he's not someone I'll revisit too often.

Chavez Sr in an offensive sense had incredible footwork, in his pomp his ability to cut off the ring was sublime. Rosario and the aforementioned Haugen for instance were quicker but couldn't get away.

I think the best part of Whitaker's footwork was the way he used it to create angles off his jab. He could land three or even four of them in quick succession from different angles without having to reset or lose his form. Even guys with world class or authoritative jabs struggle to do that.

Anyway in terms of footwork that was purely balletic then Willie Pastrano is up there. Incredibly light on his feet, as was someone like Happy Lora, Canto or Pep. The difference was that Pastrano boxed in a higher division so it was rare to see someone of his ilk barely seeming to even brush the canvas as he moved across it.

Offensively, I think Pacquiao's footwork is curiously underrated by many. He was amazing in that area in my opinion.

Soul Requiem wrote:I'd put Floyd up there in a defensive sense. Whitaker I can appreciate but he's not someone I'll revisit too often.

Chavez Sr in an offensive sense had incredible footwork, in his pomp his ability to cut off the ring was sublime. Rosario and the aforementioned Haugen for instance were quicker but couldn't get away.

Wonderful defensive fighter Floyd...Brilliant with that shoulder roll of convincing fighters he was in range and great balance to hit back when they over extended...Curry was good st it too but in a different way..

As for Willie Pastrano...I must confess to having heard of him but not watching him...I will give him a look...Happy Lora underrated fighter I remember him for his fights with ex champ Davila..

Probably the nicest guy in Boxing Alberto...Yes Lora was Champ for a while and a quality operator. ..Left field call and good one.