- 2 days ago
Pernell Whitaker defends his WBC Welterweight Title against Wilfredo Rivera on HBO Boxing
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00:00:00In this performance by Ike Corte, and now let's turn our attention to the second main event of the evening,
00:00:06upcoming for Nell Whitaker against a tough Puerto Rican fighter named Wilfredo Rivera.
00:00:10Rivera, like Whitaker, is unbeaten, or excuse me, Rivera's unbeaten.
00:00:17Larry, the noted trainer Teddy Atlas, regarded by many as one of the very best in the sport,
00:00:22had Wilfredo Rivera for a brief period of time a few years ago,
00:00:26and he seems to think, has been telling a lot of people here on the island,
00:00:29that Rivera has a tremendous chance to score a shocking upset over Whitaker tonight.
00:00:34The betting odds on the fight, which as early as, or as recently as 24 hours ago,
00:00:38were up at 6.5 or 7-1, favoring Whitaker, are now down to 2.5-1.
00:00:43There's a lot of Puerto Rican money on Rivera, but a lot of wise guys at the end thinking maybe Rivera does have a chance.
00:00:49Are we missing something?
00:00:50Well, I think when you have an aging champion, everybody's looking to see if there's some way, you know, he can get knocked off.
00:00:59But I don't think we'll miss it since we're here if something does happen.
00:01:02But it's a very, very big if as far as I'm concerned.
00:01:07There are two factors that this kind of opinion really reflects.
00:01:11One is that at 32 years of age, Pernell Whitaker is not getting any better,
00:01:17and that perhaps he is most vulnerable now to a good fighter he hasn't prepared well for
00:01:25rather than an outstanding fighter like Quartey or Trinidad who he has prepared for.
00:01:33And as far as we can hear and as far as we can find out,
00:01:37he may not have prepared as well as he might for this fight.
00:01:41He says he's prepared for two months.
00:01:43We found out he actually didn't go into the gym just a month ago.
00:01:49The other factor is that Pernell Whitaker has always had a bit of a reputation as a guy who lived and partied hard
00:01:56between fights, between his training periods, but he would train hard.
00:02:00But in the last year, there have been several incidents that he's been involved with,
00:02:04minor celebrity-type incidents,
00:02:06and people are starting to think, well, he's losing his grip a little,
00:02:11and maybe he's living and partying a little too hard at this age.
00:02:16I'll believe that he's had it, this best pure boxer of our generation,
00:02:22or maybe a couple of generations, Jim, when I see it.
00:02:25Well, let's take a look at a rundown on those, quote,
00:02:29celebrity incidents you mentioned.
00:02:31A month and a half ago, there was a dust-up outside a hotel in San Antonio with policemen,
00:02:38at least as reported in newspapers,
00:02:40at the All-Star weekend for the NBA All-Star game.
00:02:44No charges were filed there.
00:02:46And in December, Whitaker was reportedly involved in a bar brawl in Pensacola, Florida,
00:02:50when he was there for a charity basketball game against the team headed by Roy Jones.
00:02:54Again, no charges were filed there.
00:02:57So, so far, Purnell is able to substantiate his claim
00:03:00that he has not done anything for which he can be seen to be legally wrong.
00:03:05George, as is normally the case in a situation like this,
00:03:08Purnell insists he's never seen a Wilfredo Rivera fight
00:03:10and doesn't think he has to watch one.
00:03:12At what point could that be a problem for a champion getting on in years?
00:03:16I think that'll never be a problem with Purnell Whitaker.
00:03:18Pound for pound, he's probably the smartest fighter in the world
00:03:21because this guy, now with the NFL, NBA, everybody's studying films.
00:03:25Believe me, Purnell Whitaker is not behind the times.
00:03:28He's right there on schedule with everyone else.
00:03:30You're saying that you think he's trying to fool us
00:03:32when he says he hasn't seen Wilfredo Rivera fight.
00:03:33He knows more about this guy than we do.
00:03:35All right.
00:03:35Believe me.
00:03:36Well, as a 1968 Olympic gold medalist, George,
00:03:38you can perfectly understand why Purnell says
00:03:40that the biggest moment of his boxing career,
00:03:42never to be topped,
00:03:43was his 1984 Olympic gold medal winning performance in Los Angeles.
00:03:47The subject came up again recently
00:03:49as Purnell sparred with some Olympic hopefuls
00:03:51and looked forward as a fan and a boxer
00:03:53to this summer's Olympics in Atlanta.
00:04:00When you first start, I mean, you're in it that,
00:04:03you know, it's how good you can do.
00:04:04Then you get to a certain part where you want to go to the top
00:04:08and just go to the limit.
00:04:10And the limit right now for the amateur is the Olympics.
00:04:13The Olympics, a plateau Purnell Whitaker reached in 1984
00:04:17when he won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Summer Games.
00:04:21I mean, it's a dream of anyone, you know,
00:04:23to represent their country.
00:04:25I mean, if I hadn't been there to represent before,
00:04:30I would have loved to have the opportunity to go
00:04:33and be a part of the Olympic dream.
00:04:37Now, almost 12 years later,
00:04:39Whitaker might have liked to strike gold again,
00:04:42but rules of the Amateur International Boxing Association
00:04:45prohibit him from participating in the Olympics.
00:04:49We have never endeavored to have any professional boxing amateurs,
00:04:53and I don't foresee any change in the future,
00:04:56although if other sports, and I've been doing it,
00:05:01there's a possibility that a suit could be started
00:05:03because of discrimination,
00:05:05that this sport is being discriminated
00:05:06and the professionals would want to become involved.
00:05:10Indeed, as professional athletes from other sports
00:05:14continue to infiltrate the Olympic Games,
00:05:17and amateur athletes are forced aside
00:05:19to make way for the dream teams,
00:05:22new professional prize fighters deserve the same right,
00:05:26the right to go back for the gold,
00:05:28when their sport differs so radically from amateur boxing.
00:05:32The other sports that have professionals are non-combat sports.
00:05:38The whole intent of boxing is to disable the opponent,
00:05:42and that's really not what the Olympic Games is about.
00:05:45It's respect, and maybe you can pin the opponent in judo or in wrestling,
00:05:50and in boxing you win on the points,
00:05:54and a knockout is not necessarily going to give you more points
00:05:57than you can get otherwise.
00:05:59So I guess all of this is to say that at this moment in time,
00:06:06with the questions about boxing in general,
00:06:09this would not be a good time to insist that professionals
00:06:12be eligible for the Games.
00:06:14It would be almost fatal when you think that Mike Tyson
00:06:17would be boxing the number one heavyweight in the amateurs.
00:06:20If somebody got killed in the Olympic Games
00:06:23or in world championships,
00:06:24that would be the death knell for boxing.
00:06:26Or an early damaging blow to true amateurs,
00:06:30like the ones who trained with Purnell
00:06:31in preparation for the Olympic trials.
00:06:34They, and the generations to follow,
00:06:36will be the ones affected most if Olympic boxing changes.
00:06:40That was the habit, and it would take a lot from amateur boxing.
00:06:43I don't think amateur boxing would exist anymore
00:06:44because of the simple fact that everybody,
00:06:47just about everybody an amateur boxer,
00:06:49strives for the Olympic gold and for the Olympics,
00:06:53because it's not giving a lot of amateurs, you know, a chance.
00:06:56You know, to see the different parts of the world,
00:06:57meet different people,
00:06:59which the pros have already met
00:07:01or should be meeting further on in the future.
00:07:04Let them stay as the pros and we stay as the amateurs.
00:07:07You know, let us get the gold medal.
00:07:08And we'll go to the professionals
00:07:10and we'll take care of business, you know,
00:07:12if we ever meet in the professionals.
00:07:14USA! USA! USA!
00:07:16USA! Sweet Pea, go!
00:07:19For Sweet Pea Whitaker, it's a puzzling conundrum.
00:07:21To help the fighters he's training with
00:07:24or to represent the United States again, himself.
00:07:28I would do it again, of course,
00:07:30but, you know, I would have to be asked to be on it at the team.
00:07:33I would never step in there and fight against them
00:07:35and take the dream away from a younger kid, you know,
00:07:38because, first of all, it'll discourage the kid, you know,
00:07:42being in the ring with me.
00:07:44And, you know, and then I don't want to hurt anyone.
00:07:47He's had the opportunity.
00:07:50These other kids want theirs.
00:07:52But why single-out boxing?
00:07:54If Jordan can go, if Gretzky can go,
00:07:57why not Sweet Pea?
00:08:02And as we bring you back live,
00:08:04let's emphasize it's a philosophical question only.
00:08:07Certainly, Brunel has no intention
00:08:09of challenging Olympic eligibility standards this year
00:08:12or in 2002 to go to Sydney.
00:08:16The question remains interesting nevertheless.
00:08:21And let's look at the tale of the tape now
00:08:24for Brunel Whitaker against Wilfredo Rivera.
00:08:27Whitaker, 32 years old,
00:08:30just turned so a little bit earlier this year,
00:08:32gives up four inches in height to Rivera,
00:08:34who's a big welterweight,
00:08:36sees himself as becoming at least a junior middleweight
00:08:39and perhaps somewhere in his career a middleweight fighter.
00:08:43Punch that numbers, Larry.
00:08:46All right, let's go to our punch that numbers.
00:08:48This is a...
00:08:49De Rivera, who's a big welterweight,
00:08:51sees himself as becoming at least a junior middleweight
00:08:54and perhaps somewhere in his career a middleweight fighter.
00:08:58Punch that numbers, Larry.
00:09:01All right, let's go to our punch that numbers.
00:09:03this is a in his last 15 fights Whitaker has been remarkably consistent over those fights
00:09:09landing more than half of his punches Rivera against Cassius Clay Horn another southpaw
00:09:16last year these are the numbers not with the same accuracy as Whitaker take a look at the jabs now
00:09:25you can see they both throw as many jabs on average but once again Whitaker with that
00:09:32great accuracy what are the rules Harold the burnout Whitaker will Fredo Rivera fight is
00:09:38scheduled for 12 rounds there is no standing eight count no three knockdown rule only the
00:09:44referee can stop the fight and you can be changed by the Bell only the 12th and final round Jim
00:09:54and as you look at this makeshift boxing scene once again just to underline the
00:10:01point in case you weren't with us at the very beginning of the evening we are in an outdoor
00:10:05courtyard at a gambling casino the seats that you see are folding chairs which were arrayed around
00:10:11this ring late this afternoon the ring itself was flown in from New Jersey at a cost of 11,700 bucks
00:10:17the Bell came from Las Vegas the ring doctors came from Nevada the overall officiating supervisor Larry
00:10:26Dazzard is here on his own nickel from New Jersey everybody pitching in to help the folks in San Martin
00:10:31do something they're not used to doing post a big night of boxing and here's Wilfredo Rivera you see the
00:10:42graphic one championship fight this is the first time for Rivera to underline the huge disparity in experience
00:10:50Grinnell Whitaker has more rounds in championship fights than Rivera has rounds of professional boxing in his career
00:10:58but that can be said on about almost everybody in the division Jim
00:11:03about the betting enthusiasm in the casino for this guy in the last 24 hours
00:11:15I mark it up to two factors one people don't like to lay odds and two we aren't that far from Puerto Rico
00:11:25the third factor is this question of Whitaker who in addition to the other things we mentioned earlier
00:11:34barely and questionably made weight early in the day
00:11:39and the ring record for Wilfredo Rivera 23 wins the one draw against Lavander Johnson of the United States
00:11:51an excellent fighter in a four-round fight early in his career
00:11:5514 KOs he has a modicum of power but really doesn't see himself as a power puncher he sees himself as a boxing technician
00:12:04and yet like everybody else that Purnell Whitaker has fought in whatever division it's been
00:12:11this opponent is stronger than Whitaker he's always fighting somebody stronger than he is
00:12:19that's a good point Larry and here comes Brunell Whitaker in the sixth defense of his welterweight title
00:12:28this is one of only four guys in the history of the sport the others are Hearns Leonard and Duran
00:12:33who have won world championships in four separate weight classes
00:12:54Purnell Whitaker playing the crowd getting the crowd on his side
00:13:00well as great as Quartey was in the opener this is the biggest star of the night he gets ready for his 40th fight
00:13:08he tries to re-embellish his credentials as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world that in the eyes of most has become an ongoing two-man derby
00:13:16between Whitaker and 168-pound world champion Roy Jones Jr.
00:13:21right now let's go up to ring announcer Michael Bumper for the pre-fight introduction
00:13:26and now ladies and gentlemen main event
00:13:35main event monitor AB stars production along with your undisputed king of beers Budweiser
00:13:41this buzz for you in association with Cedric Kushner promotions and the Atlantis Casino here
00:13:47the beautiful St. Martin St. Martin present part two of the double welterweight rumble
00:13:5112 rounds of boxing for the WBC welterweight championship of the world
00:13:57once again this bout is sanctioned by the St. Martin boxing commission president
00:14:03Jacint Brian La Vega and the world boxing council president Jose Suleman
00:14:08WBC supervisor at ringside Mario Latraverse
00:14:12the three judges scoring this bout on a 10-point must system assigned at ringside will be Barbara Perez
00:14:20George St. Oda and Tomatsu Tamihara and when the bell rings the referee in charge of the action
00:14:27from Great Britain Larry O'Connell and now ladies and gentlemen once again for the second time tonight
00:14:35from the Emerald Island here in the Caribbean St. Martin Saint-Martin
00:14:41let's get ready to rumble
00:14:47introducing first fighting out of the red corner wearing the white and weighing in at 147 pounds
00:14:58his professional record 23 victories without a defeat with one draw and 14 KOs to his credit
00:15:06ladies and gentlemen Tomasi Caballeros con Israel Rio Piedras
00:15:12Puerto Rico
00:15:14introducing the number one ranked WBC welterweight contender in the world the undefeated challenger
00:15:23Wilfredo Rivera
00:15:29and his opponent across the ring fighting out of the blue corner wearing white trimmed with red and blue and also weighing 147 pounds
00:15:41since capturing Olympic gold in 1988 he has won six world titles in four weight divisions and his 37 victories with 16 KOs one disputed loss one disputed draw make him without a doubt
00:15:47pound for pound for pound one of the best fighters over the last decade in the world
00:15:53ladies and gentlemen
00:15:55presenting from Norfolk Virginia
00:16:05the WBC welterweight champion of the world
00:16:09the WBC welterweight champion of the world
00:16:13Penel
00:16:15the WBC welterweight champion of joy
00:16:17the WBC welterweight champion of theaged Iron Man
00:16:21can you know
00:16:23borrow the will side
00:16:25and transform
00:16:28Pinel
00:16:29move out
00:16:30éš¾el
00:16:31Mr надо
00:16:32Mr Monaten
00:16:33Mr Man
00:16:34you've had your instructions inside the dressing room
00:16:36I expect it to be a eight lad give a goingaye good luck to both
00:16:38Keep your punch in yourself
00:16:39good luck to both
00:16:40Rivera is one of those fighters, Jim, you know, that I tend to fall in love with when
00:16:47they come out of nowhere to challenge for a title.
00:16:52Most often it turns out to be a one-night stand.
00:16:54Let's see if we can get a more serious relationship going here.
00:16:58Alfredo Rivera, no stranger to Southpaws.
00:17:00This will be the eighth time in his 25-fight pro career that he's fought against a Southpaw
00:17:05opponent.
00:17:06Is that important going against Whitaker, George?
00:17:08Well, most importantly, you've got to be enthusiastic.
00:17:11You're going up against a good, experienced Southpaw, you just can't beat him fighting
00:17:17against a Southpaw.
00:17:18You've just got to get out there and be silly about your aggression.
00:17:31Whitaker lands a straight left hand.
00:17:35Fab17, cut176, cyclical start for both fighters.
00:17:54Rivera, looking to find a way to start sticking the jab, and Purnell just clawing back at him.
00:17:58him as if to say okay if you're gonna call with your jab i'll tap you a few times too
00:18:06whitaker hasn't started to drop his hands and do the little tricks that he normally
00:18:10does that means he's a bit tight right now once he finds himself at home
00:18:14starts playing his tricks you'll know that he's relaxed kind of a look what i found counter right
00:18:21inside by rivera as brunell whitaker walked into it while looking for an opportunity to get in you
00:18:26see brunell ducking and looking as he will occasionally do
00:18:40rivera that time with a lead right hand he'll occasionally switch home southpaw dance
00:18:45and he throws that lead right hand well enough to use it as a jab
00:18:48when you're a veteran like pernell whitaker your whole career is depending on how many tricks
00:19:00that you're able to bring to mind quickly in three minutes time every round power is one thing
00:19:07endurance another but you gotta have a lot of tricks up your sleeve you gotta drop your hand draw your
00:19:12draw your opponent you gotta do something stick your head out or something to make him start
00:19:18throwing punches you don't want him to be conservative at all at all
00:19:23whitaker in his last fight got a rare sixth round knockout over jake rodriguez prior to that he had had
00:19:2910 straight decisions entitled defenses and as far as tricks are concerned this man knows everyone in
00:19:41the book and has invented some that aren't yet in the book not only so he's starting to land punches
00:19:46to the belly of rivera no greening out his own antics here as referee larry mcconnell says let's get
00:19:55serious and round one comes to a close as we go to rivera's corner and he waves to the crowd
00:20:02with the puerto rican banners in the background our interpreter is hector garcia
00:20:07in the background take it easy just be relaxed don't forget what we tried at the gym we practiced
00:20:17we've worked on that on those moves don't forget what we practice your lateral moves are very important
00:20:26and just go for it
00:20:29the early impression is that it will take whitaker a much longer time to take the bark
00:20:54back off his opponent than it did for ike corte to do it to his opponent
00:21:02this is the kind of guy it's very hard to look good against that's sort of to be expected given
00:21:07the disparity in their styles pernell isn't a knockout puncher and doesn't look for the opportunity very
00:21:13often but the veterans it's very important when you're a veteran like primer whitaker to win this
00:21:19fight in the last three in the first three rounds so that you get the guy reaching
00:21:24jumping flinching and the fight is not hard as it go on but you take him out of the fight in the
00:21:28first three rounds and you do that through what guile or aggression you hit them in the body a lot
00:21:35and in his chest to take the power away number one and secondly make him think be unsure of
00:21:41everything that he does in that point on make him unsure about everything well you saw rivera's very
00:21:47low connect percentage in the first round only 17 that's pretty typical of opponents who get in
00:21:53against whitaker and find him very difficult to locate
00:22:02whitaker knows everything about himself he knows if he gets low make the opponent get low he no
00:22:07longer has the height and reach disadvantage you got a lot of tricks he plays out there you got to
00:22:13keep him up and the guy's taller than you make him shorter so by bringing rivera down to him he
00:22:19eliminates the taller man's leverage that's true and that's what you do you keep stooping down
00:22:23stooping down finally the tall guy gets low too
00:22:33whitaker landing the jab flush rivera trying to come back to the body now whitaker lands a straight left hand
00:22:38right there's a veteran boxer like whitaker you throw heavy punches never to knock a guy down but only to
00:22:55make him to make him respect you
00:23:07there's a good straight right hand by rivera but so far it looks to me like the tall puerto rican is just
00:23:11too cautious george he's gonna have to throw all this caution to the wind and go you've got to do it
00:23:17probably the greatest fight i've ever seen in that weight division is jose nopoli threw away his
00:23:22scientific fighting ability and attacked curtis coke like an amateur and won every round
00:23:28right hand lands for whitaker
00:23:51second round not much better than the first for wilfredo rivera
00:24:05okay
00:24:14the fight is even we have to we have two rounds already in the fight is even
00:24:18the lateral movements are very important i don't want to keep telling you the lateral movements
00:24:23are very important go low go below
00:24:31right and then get your combinations off he's trying to hit with the right hand that's all
00:24:34he's got and don't stand in front of him too long turn him turn turn turn him move that hand
00:24:38baby move that here don't get him a lot of here moving up you're doing beautiful like that
00:24:43man you heard the voices of ronnie shields and lou duva in the corner of brunell whitaker
00:24:59rivera's lifetime ambition is to be an accountant which tells you something about his temperament and
00:25:06personality he's going to win this fight he's going to have to go to the gaming tables a few yards from
00:25:11here take his hands out of his pockets and his sharp put a sharp pencil away and just go to work
00:25:18you know an extremely devout christian rivera yesterday when we met with him had his bible in
00:25:23his room open to the book of jove and as george reaffirmed to us jove is the ultimate lesson in
00:25:28patience he's been too patient here so far no doubt about it you've got to get a little amateurish with
00:25:34renard of willaker the more professional you get he's the best at that once you get stupid and out of
00:25:41range and he can't calculate what you're going to do then you'll win points just balling change it up
00:25:47rivera leaning back after he throws his punch
00:25:58now he gets to the body as whitaker comes in
00:26:00and another good right hand body shot for rivera again as whitaker was coming in now whitaker's got to
00:26:17protect himself from these kind of body punches you take away a little of this jab he's dropping his
00:26:23right hand now there's a cut a bad cut probably from the headbutt over the eye rivera on rivera's forehead
00:26:36and we're just in the third round harrow what does it mean well at this point if they uh if they
00:26:42stop the fight on the kind of an accidental headbutt it's a technical draw you got to go four rounds
00:26:46before we go to the small cuts completed grounds he has given permission to the fight to go ahead
00:26:53he doesn't think it's dangerous it is high on the forehead just below the hairline well maybe this will
00:26:58be what it takes to release rivera's inhibitions but as the blood starts to blow again whitaker lands
00:27:03a solid left and it's flowing into his eye that's what makes it dangerous it's not the cut itself it's the
00:27:10blood flowing into that left eye that cut is in an awkward place george you think there's any chance
00:27:19they can get it stopped right because he starts messing up his vision he starts blinking a lot
00:27:25ominski from las vegas very cautious doctor he's had some bad incidents in his life and he's not going to
00:27:32see them happen again rivera switching southpaw now so that the lead eye is now the right eye where
00:27:42the blood is not trickling very smart very smart terrific tactical move by wilfredo rivera and now
00:27:50immediately he lands two solid shots
00:27:55the blood may be worse than the cut but it's pretty bad that blood
00:27:59i don't think i can recall anybody looking quite as bloody as this big job between rounds for the
00:28:06cut man jim strickland in wilfredo rivera's corner and the doctor phil pomanski is coming up on the
00:28:13ring apron to check it out now this is the second stoppage in the round by the referee and this takes
00:28:17place with scant seconds remaining before the bell time for maybe one more rivera shot and then the bell is
00:28:25going to ring jim strickland gets right in front of the fighter and goes to work don't worry about it
00:28:41there's the cut it's okay it's this this is okay they're putting some kind of an ointment on it
00:28:50it's okay harold what are the legal substances to put in the cut but generally in these title fights
00:29:02they only allow you to use adrenaline one to one thousand but most quarter men make an agreement
00:29:06they let you use strap in a rapid team i think he's using appetite now let's take a look and catch the butt
00:29:14right there right there
00:29:25one heady fighter to another i think the blood on the top of whitaker's head comes from rivera
00:29:33harold will the avatine stop the bleeding considerably more rapidly than would have been the case with
00:29:37the adrenaline solution oh absolutely there's no question all the good point i want to use avatine
00:29:42today incidentally jim strickland the cut man registered pharmacist former pharmacy owner in chicago
00:29:48good cut man did a good job here has stopped the flow for the moment harold who is a pharmacist himself is
00:29:56partial to pharmacy he knows a good pharmacist when he sees one huh now that cut is way too high on
00:30:05rivera's head for whitaker to even begin to think of targeting it right george the good thing about
00:30:10it you send him rivera back to his corner and they're thinking more about the cut than they are
00:30:14instructions and that's what you gain with a cut like this get them out of their game plan and that's
00:30:19what this cut has done now rivera's going to stay in this southpaw stance for a while in fact i wouldn't be
00:30:25surprised to see him stay in it the rest of the way no doubt about it he's showing him the side
00:30:29that's not bleeding that's only going to help and it also gives him a chance to see better because
00:30:34that lead eye is the one that isn't bothered good strong left hand over the top high rivera
00:30:41i think whitaker's thrown off by the southpaw stance a little bit here george
00:30:45it'll make him fight a bit more when whitaker's thrown off he starts trying to fight and sometimes
00:30:51a veteran needs to get out there and know he's got to fight to win these fights
00:31:01whitaker lands a hard left hand counter inside
00:31:21great right hand by whitaker rivera momentarily stuns brunell with a roundhouse left and
00:31:29brunell whitaker senses a chance here and starts to get aggressive not only so he made his opponent
00:31:34switch for a moment back into his customary right handstand and a veteran look at these things
00:31:42everything you do they think about i made him switch all right george we're going to go over to larry
00:31:47merchant right now who has gone over to jim strickland the cut man and wilfredo rivera's
00:31:52corner larry all right jim would you tell us how dangerous that cut is if at all and what the danger
00:31:57it poses well if it won't stop the bleeding it's very dangerous because it'll blind him he won't be
00:32:02able to see it you saw how blood the blood was bleeding so how profusely it was bleeding but i think
00:32:08i'm able to control that blood what have you what did you put on it to try to control it i used a mixture of
00:32:13avatine landland and i and i flooded it with adrenaline all right thank you very much
00:32:21some bleeding now from the top of rivera's skull not nearly to deluge that gushed out of there
00:32:28right after the cut came in round number three so rivera making his way through round four with
00:32:35reasonable control and not too much more damage from the butt cut on his head
00:32:43the blood that's already stopped the bleeding's already stopped just relax don't worry about it
00:33:03listen to me you try to hit them in the shoulders now go to the shoulders and apply
00:33:09you have to apply more pressure i need you to be more aggressive you have to be more aggressive
00:33:17you gotta throw with this guy here you throw two and three punches he can't do nothing
00:33:22and look don't stand right in front of the gap no give him a lot of
00:33:24amount against the face and when you get close you gotta start hitting in the body
00:33:28round five coming up round four was the best in the fight so far for rivera maybe maybe the desperation
00:33:44that comes from being cut and feeling and tasting his own blood has activated the gambling instinct in
00:33:52rivera harold lederman how do you have it so far well jim i've got it three rounds to one 39 37
00:33:59pernell sweet pea whitaker jim i think the mistake that wilfredo rivera's making is he's standing
00:34:04straight up i mean he told us he was going to give his head move but he was going to bob and weave
00:34:08and he lied he's standing straight up like a totem pole he's an easy target for perno with his left hand
00:34:15harold you must have given rivera round four exactly i get the fourth round but you know the answer they
00:34:20landed the same amount of punches but wilfredo really landed the hardest shot to the fourth
00:34:24i had the same score and rivera is back to his conventional stance george now he switches back
00:34:30to southpaw again the point is rivera is not standing up he's bending his knees down to pernell
00:34:36whitaker's height with his head up if he would only get his legs a little closer together he'd have a
00:34:42reach and height advantage and he's not doing that what about the lateral movement his corner keeps
00:34:46crying for you don't need lateral movement if you're above you're out up there in the sky
00:34:52one thing you don't want to do is lose your head because your head is already out of the way when
00:34:55you're taller he brought his head down far enough to allow whitaker to land that over the top left hand
00:35:05runnell starting to throw harder punches now as the fight progresses there are some in whitaker's camp
00:35:11who are worried about his stamina because he had the flu during training and then he got a bronchial
00:35:16condition afterward and eventually took antibiotics to clear it up but he did not have the best possible
00:35:21training circumstances and right now pernell whitaker the veteran has got his right hand low he's
00:35:27pacing himself and this is when rivera could be aggressive and win some points here
00:35:32but it just doesn't seem to be in him to be aggressive enough and now the blood is starting to flow again
00:35:50all right harold we're into round five now so let's reinterpret the rule on the accidental headbutt cut
00:35:56okay jim as long as uh referee larry o'connell says that that cut is caused by an accidental headbutt
00:36:02since four completed rounds you know since four has been completed if the fighters stopped because
00:36:07of that cut we go to the scorecards even if it stopped in the eighth ninth tenth eleventh to twelfth
00:36:12rounds we still go to the scorecards if the fighters stopped because of the cut that was originally produced by a
00:36:18headbutt whitaker is starting to land that overhand left with some regularity and he might just have
00:36:27a chance to whack rivera out of here george because he's throwing more power shots than he normally does
00:36:32uh whitaker as a matter of fact he he looks down on himself when he tries to get a knockout he'll land
00:36:37play those punches but it's about get give me my respect
00:36:53uh we're not doing too good you allow him in for him to get it in you have to apply pressure
00:37:03you come on man those lateral movements I keep telling you if those punches to the head go to
00:37:10the body first drink some water with Fredo with Fredo you have to apply the pressure
00:37:17round six begins on the island of San Martin the wind starting to whip through this outdoor
00:37:46makeshift boxing setting just a little bit more strongly than before
00:38:00they're back in the conventional stance that exposes the side of his head
00:38:04with his cut Whitaker's right there that's right still making that mistake of spreading his legs too far
00:38:11bringing his height advantage down and Jack and the beanstalk you don't get that the giant doesn't
00:38:19try to bark and weave with Jack uses his height so in this case Jack doesn't even have to chop down the
00:38:30beanstalk because the beanstalk is coming to him Whitaker not as technically proficient so far
00:38:44as is normally the case at least not by our punch stat numbers he's landing at about a 16 percent
00:38:50lower rate than is normally the case Rivera getting some chances especially when he goes
00:38:56to the southpaw stands now the veteran starts to play his tricks and Rivera remembering to go to the body
00:39:11there good idea he got a couple body shots in on Whitaker in the early rounds and he'd be well
00:39:18advised to keep after it that's true Whitaker when you're not in good shape you gotta act like you're in good shape
00:39:25right-left combination landing for Whitaker
00:39:32right-left combination landing for Whitaker
00:39:46what he's doing he lands a good shot then he makes his opponent try to pay him back then all you do is step out of the way let him expend some more of his energy
00:39:53hold him
00:40:00hold him
00:40:18great left hand lands for Whitaker
00:40:27great left hand lands for Whitaker it's become a tactical boxing match it's very tough to beat Brunel Whitaker in a tactical boxing match no doubt about it no he's gonna try to get to pay him back now
00:40:45all right
00:40:48he's gonna one punch and then you quit
00:40:50all right
00:40:51look this guy is too tall for that
00:40:53all right you can't just throw one shot and get away with it all the time
00:40:56you gotta go behind two three four punches just stepping around this guy
00:41:00you ain't gotta fight with this guy you can just keep boxing like you're boxing
00:41:03okay but you gotta be busy that's all it is
00:41:06you're not busy enough you're not busy enough
00:41:08come on
00:41:09you have to put the pressure we're not gonna catch up with this guy if you don't apply pressure
00:41:14you have to do it now
00:41:16if we want to stop this guy you gotta apply the pressure otherwise we're never gonna do it
00:41:21go for it go for it man
00:41:23go for it man
00:41:24go for it man
00:41:25go for it man
00:41:26go for it man
00:41:27go for it man
00:41:28go for it man
00:41:29you have to throw those punches low
00:41:30combination
00:41:31all right
00:41:32ordinarily Cornell Whitaker
00:41:33frustrates this type of awkward tough willing fighter in the first half of the fight
00:41:38makes him come to him and open up
00:41:41and then runs away with it in the second half of the fight
00:41:45but we have to ask the question again is he in the kind of top shape that he can do that
00:41:51that same thing he's done over and over
00:41:54runnell Whitaker only threw 47 punches in round six that's a very low work rate for him
00:42:04he only connected on 27 percent of them that's an extremely low connect percentage for him
00:42:10so there are some dark signs on the horizon for Whitaker despite the fact that he has been up to now
00:42:16in control of the fight against a fighter who is trying to deal with a very deep cut
00:42:23near his hairline on the left side of his head
00:42:26but that cut did not bother him in the last round didn't open up and appears to be no factor at this moment
00:42:32credit Jim Strickland the cut man with having gotten the job done up to now
00:42:37with a large knife
00:42:43and recovering from the earliest
00:42:44get your head off
00:42:50nice
00:42:55and be gets a little bit more aggressive and start throwing at a higher rate
00:42:59Whitaker's gonna have to work here
00:43:02all the veteran Whitaker is doing now apply some pressure laying about three
00:43:08or four punches to the pit of the stomach and keep close to him while you're
00:43:12resting he's coasting he's coasting generally coasting to get his win back
00:43:17stay close
00:43:32and in that clinch you saw Rivera literally holding his left glove over the cut to protect his head
00:44:02reading body shots at close range Rivera goes back to the southpaw stance
00:44:16teeming with Whitaker just a little bit that's what a veteran wants from a young fighter make him pose
00:44:23throw his punches all your fists up make holes for me and give me a time a little time to rest and
00:44:30that's what Whitaker is getting there's a small mouse next to the right eye of Pernell Whitaker
00:44:35George now Pernell has no history of cutting but there is a tiny blemish a mouse right at the edge
00:44:40of his eye and he's very frustrated as he goes to the corner well from St. Martin tonight to South
00:44:48Dakota next Saturday night join us April 21 HBO Boxing After Dark presents Virgil Hill defending
00:44:54his light heavyweight title against undefeated contender Lou Del Valle plus a heavyweight match
00:44:59featuring Lou Savarese and Buster Mathis Jr. some of the best of the business work the night shift
00:45:04as you'll see next Saturday night at 11 30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific you considered fighting Lou Savarese at
00:45:11one point didn't you George you didn't think about it no no okay hold up those hands that's all this
00:45:19guys getting desperate now all right let's take a look here and see something we've caught in our replays
00:45:24how Rivera is stepping on Pernell Whitaker's feet and punching but he's getting away with it
00:45:31it doesn't appear to be purposeful but it's effective and this fight is kind of ugly it's it's a boxing
00:45:44mauling brawling what Harold how do you have it after seven rounds well Larry I've got it a little bit
00:45:52closer 67 66 four rounds to three Pernell Whitaker I thought that Wilfredo Rivera did enough in round
00:45:58six and seven to win those rounds make it a little bit closer but the only thing is I really question
00:46:03what Jim Strickland's using on that card because I'll tell you he really closed it up all the
00:46:07fast there's something funny about that I don't know I hate to say he's using Montel solution which
00:46:12is illegal but I want to tell you that he's not bleeding at all I find it strange well what would happen
00:46:17if they found out that it was an illegal substance then he should lose any disqualification I mean
00:46:22you're not allowed to do it but under what rules would it be illegal there's no local commission
00:46:26here Harold there is a local commission that they're just being aided by Gary Shaw and Larry
00:46:31Hazard but I don't know do you guys notice the same thing I've noticed it's up oh now it opened up well
00:46:35I mean we're giving Strickland credit for having done a terrific job and that's as far as we can go
00:46:40frankly Harold because we don't know what he put in there exactly before the last two rounds I mean
00:46:44all you saw is that blackness there the thing about it Pernell Whitaker went to the body and
00:46:50pushed his shelf a lot he didn't even throw a lot of hit punches at all tried to rest take a little
00:46:55out of his opponent now he's going to the head a bit this round yeah and here comes the blood again out
00:46:59of the cut so while it was effectively closed between rounds it's opened up again here
00:47:08Rivera who has never knocked an opponent out past the seventh round has to look at the likelihood of going
00:47:14the distance here he switches back to the southpaw stance now to protect the bloody eye on the left side
00:47:26Whitaker looking for a chance to pop to the body as he holds Rivera with his right arm
00:47:31he knows every trick in the book no doubt about it Whitaker's a cat and he can stretch
00:47:44now Whitaker's taking the uh charge with the left with this right jab and that should never happen
00:47:56with a taller opponent good hard right hand by Rivera as Whitaker was stepping in and Rivera now landing the
00:48:03harder shots and backing Whitaker up round after round this could get interesting you saw that Harold has it
00:48:12with only a one point margin after seven rounds Whitaker's pretty small he picks a fight and he steps out of
00:48:18there that's what you want to do with the younger fighter make them to expend some of that energy
00:48:23pick the fight but don't get into it back away once they start swinging
00:48:27that's about the ugliest right hand i've ever seen
00:48:40you're okay listen to me we're going to the ninth round
00:48:59we have to do this now to apply that pressure let's go down to the body and then go up to the
00:49:11head you have to use your combination your eyes is okay your eyes okay but we have to work
00:49:18this is back in round three when their heads collided and Rivera's head took the worst of it
00:49:34it does seem jimmy george that when it bleeds that Whitaker wins the round no doubt about it the
00:49:43judges look at it like this you think that influences judges george i'm a judge of course
00:49:50i've never been one but harold ellenman has been i'd look at that blood and say oh the guy's getting
00:49:55pushed harold how about you larry it shouldn't you score the punches you don't score the blood
00:50:02unfortunately you're right it does a lot of judges they see a guy bleeding they just look at the other
00:50:07guy you're 100 correct it does influence the judges and it should but here's what else the judges might
00:50:13have seen in the last two rounds rivera almost doubling whitaker's punch output landing more
00:50:18punches and constantly coming forward while pete backs up now another timeout jim let me say this
00:50:24but it's getting interesting if they stop it here they score the partial round in other words they would
00:50:29score round nine you know round nine would become part of the scoring here even though very little of
00:50:34brown line has been completed but they're not stopping it harold they're checking his glove at this
00:50:39point because apparently some of the tape came unwrapped and it seems to me a rest like that has to
00:50:48benefit whitaker at this point amen to that
00:51:02that rivera's corner told him to get out there and get on top of this guy try to finish him out
00:51:20now he can just step and jab jab jab step away occasionally open up with a combination but
00:51:26maintain he thinks his lead now here comes the blood again
00:51:41whitaker with a hard right hand to the body rivera tapping punches he doesn't throw nearly as hard
00:51:46when he's in the conventional stance and when the bloody side of his head is toward pernell whitaker he's
00:51:52much more aggressive when he turns around and goes southpaw he seems not to care about the cut on his head as much
00:52:15crowd not quite certain what they're watching in a lot of instances here because they don't have the
00:52:18benefit of a replay to see that the cut came from an accidental headbutt whitaker lands a hard right
00:52:23hand coming in and rivera switches back to the southpaw side and the veteran whitaker is doing smart
00:52:31stuff he's a counter puncher and he's got a contender playing the counter puncher game with him
00:52:35things just couldn't be better for him just missed a haymaker left
00:52:49you're going to see lucy would jump on pernell whitaker this round
00:52:52what if it drops his right hand down this is beginning to look a little bit like a bullfight
00:53:06with the bullfighter just poking blood from the bull
00:53:11with a little bit of water
00:53:31juliano
00:53:32are you looking out but for whitaker guys he only threw 38 punches in the round
00:53:36you have to keep applying that pressure you can keep working oh yeah listen to me
00:53:43we've got it all right come on let's get them together get the combinations
00:53:53earlier we showed you rivera stepping on whitaker's foot and hitting and here you're
00:53:59seeing just the opposite whitaker's stepping on rivera's foot it often happens with left-handers
00:54:06when they meet changing stances it's inadvertent but it does affect what happens when when they
00:54:13do step on each other's feet rivera begins round 10 with a right-hand lead
00:54:18whitaker pecking and moving pecking and moving and harold letterman now has rivera leading the fight
00:54:36and whitaker is backing up now here comes frannell coming on
00:54:58Lauren Moore, Rivera is the constant aggressor,
00:55:02and Whitaker is backing up.
00:55:05Now, here comes Fresnel coming in.
00:55:06He's going to have to rally, I think, in these last three rounds, George,
00:55:10to be absolutely certain of making his impression on the judges.
00:55:13The thing about Whitaker's been landing some hard shots.
00:55:16Once you do that, you have a tendency to ease up and say,
00:55:19I heard him, why throw a whole bunch more? I'm winning the rounds.
00:55:22Not looked at sometimes by the judges.
00:55:23They see you just didn't throw a lot of punches.
00:55:26They don't even count the hardness of your shot.
00:55:28Well, Whitaker has never had to land hard shots to win.
00:55:36He's done it by piling up points round after round.
00:55:39He's won 83% of the rounds he's fought,
00:55:42almost all of them in championship fights,
00:55:44since his only loss to Jose Luis Ramirez several years ago.
00:55:47Grinnell's mouth constantly open as he breathes through his mouth.
00:56:01Both fighters have a right to be tired as they come through the tent.
00:56:03He's got a bad shot.
00:56:05Here it goes.
00:56:05Here it goes!
00:56:10Here it goes!
00:56:11Here it goes!
00:56:11Take it back!
00:56:13Thank you!
00:56:14Thank you!
00:56:14Here it goes!
00:56:15Here it goes!
00:56:15Here it goes!
00:56:20Here it goes!
00:56:21Heads up!
00:56:21this is the time in your career you're smart you've won a lot of boxing matches
00:56:26advice from your corner and once the corner give you the advice you got to
00:56:30take it Whitaker leaping in to try to land there
00:56:34Whitaker needs some advice now yeah and I'm not sure he's gotten the sense of
00:56:39urgency out of Ronnie Shields and Lou Duva that might be appropriate for this
00:56:43situation he's playing right into the old counterpunchers game now he's
00:56:49throwing leading and Rivera is catching him on the counter Whitaker doesn't like
00:56:54that
00:57:00and he smiles and laughs at Rivera and Rivera smiles and laughs right back at him
00:57:04as round 10 comes to a close
00:57:08I know he's there
00:57:17hey
00:57:18we need to go man
00:57:19I know he's there
00:57:20I know he's there
00:57:21I know he's there
00:57:22we need a round
00:57:23oh
00:57:24come on
00:57:25come on
00:57:26come on
00:57:27come on
00:57:28come on
00:57:29come on
00:57:30come on
00:57:31come on
00:57:32stand a minute but you got to move your head
00:57:36let me take the monkeys up
00:57:37you got to move your head
00:57:39you understand
00:57:40we need one of these two rounds is all we need
00:57:42we need one round baby one round
00:57:44two rounds to go man
00:57:46you have to go
00:57:47you have to give me the best two rounds of your life right now
00:57:50I have to apply that pressure
00:57:53give me the best two rounds
00:57:54let's go
00:57:56you want to be a champ
00:57:59you got to do this
00:57:59just a reminder fellas that earlier I said
00:58:04that a good fighter you haven't prepared seriously for can become more of a danger
00:58:10than a much better fighter you have prepared seriously for
00:58:13it's never easy to know how much of a factor that is here
00:58:17but this is a closer fight than many people anticipated
00:58:22okay Jim
00:58:25I honestly believe that Pernail Whitaker is in definite danger of losing this fight
00:58:29I've got it six rounds to four
00:58:3196-94 Wilfredo Rivera
00:58:35he's the aggressor
00:58:36he's landing the hardest shot
00:58:37he's backing up
00:58:39give Wilfredo credit for clean punching
00:58:41effective aggressiveness
00:58:42good defense
00:58:43I think he's winning
00:58:44and that's all there is to do it
00:58:45I've given him the last five rounds in a row
00:58:47I have Whitaker ahead
00:58:48by the same score as six rounds to four
00:58:51I'll pretty much say it the same way
00:58:53Whitaker's ahead
00:58:54but barely
00:58:56Whitaker's ahead in my book
00:58:58he's going to have to maintain that lead
00:59:00by getting a bit more aggression
00:59:02whenever Rivera doubles up on that right hand
00:59:07he just can't miss Whitaker's face
00:59:09the judges are from New Jersey
00:59:11Trinidad and Hawaii
00:59:13so two of the three are American judges
00:59:16and of course
00:59:16both of these technically are American fighters
00:59:20now Whitaker chopping away with the left hand
00:59:22as he begins to become more active in the 11th
00:59:25and I think that's kept Whitaker in the fight
00:59:34that's the right jab of his
00:59:35whenever he gets behind
00:59:36he applies that pressure with the jab
00:59:38and the points start to add up again
00:59:40and I say both fighters technically are American
00:59:44of course I refer to the fact that Puerto Rico
00:59:46is a protectorate under the auspices of the USA
00:59:48Whitaker landed at a higher rate in round 10
00:59:54but again only through 35 punches
00:59:56he does seem to be trying to bring the punch put
00:59:58punch out put up a little bit here
01:00:00there's a strange look on political Whitaker's face
01:00:05and you don't like to see that look
01:00:06on the veteran fighter's face
01:00:07because you think
01:00:09when is that last fight that's going to happen
01:00:11every veteran's got to look for that last fight
01:00:15you're talking about one of the greatest champions in the sport
01:00:17the man generally regarded as one of the two best pound-for-pound fighters on the world
01:00:22he has and
01:00:23great right hand shot lands for Rivera
01:00:24and Rivera begins to fight as though he smells success
01:00:26you're talking about one of the greatest champions in the sport
01:00:40the man generally regarded as one of the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world
01:00:47would judges give him the benefit of the doubt
01:00:49or the Puerto Rican fighter that they are likely not to have seen before
01:00:53that question answers itself
01:01:01he made Pernell Whitaker miss a straight left hand in the last round
01:01:07that just doesn't happen
01:01:16last round we got a second
01:01:18last round baby
01:01:19this is the gold medal right here
01:01:21this is the gold medal round
01:01:23this is what we've been talking about in training camp
01:01:25this is it right here
01:01:26now we gotta
01:01:27you have to apply the most pressure you possibly can in the last minute
01:01:31don't let him break
01:01:33keep busy
01:01:34you know we're gonna win this fight
01:01:38let's go one round to go
01:01:41they gotta throw combinations at this guy right
01:01:44don't let this guy out
01:01:49he cannot fight going back
01:01:51you understand
01:02:00you heard someone in the corner telling Pernell Whitaker
01:02:03this was a gold medal round
01:02:07the Olympics meant a lot to Pernell
01:02:09he told us he wanted to do well
01:02:11and this year the first time the Olympics have been held
01:02:14and will be held in the U.S.
01:02:16since he won the gold at Los Angeles
01:02:20and he has to make a statement in this round
01:02:24Whitaker fans in the crowd chanting
01:02:26Pete Pete Pete
01:02:28in the 11th he managed to up the punch out
01:02:30but a little he threw 43
01:02:32but Rivera threw 73
01:02:34he's still backing Whitaker up most of the time
01:02:37high drama in the Caribbean
01:02:39in the Caribbean
01:02:42hard right hand by Rivera
01:02:46and the Puerto Rican contingent comes up out of its feet
01:02:48yeah the hard reality is you get to be a veteran
01:02:55I don't care if you have a hundred boxing matches
01:02:57this is still the fight game
01:03:01and when it hits you in the 12th round that you got a fight
01:03:05after all of this glamour of being pound for pound
01:03:08all of that stuff
01:03:09still got a fight to win
01:03:11it hurts
01:03:12two vicious right hand body shots by Rivera
01:03:14Whitaker comes back with a hard left hand
01:03:16Rivera gets lucky with a right hand counter inside
01:03:25still the aggressor
01:03:27still backing Whitaker up
01:03:29less than a minute and a half to go
01:03:31I thought Whitaker's legs wobbled there for a moment
01:03:46more than a moment
01:03:48more than a moment
01:03:50more than a moment
01:03:51I think he is mondo exhausto guys
01:03:53I think all the rumors about the training
01:03:55are proving all too true
01:03:57for Pernell Whitaker
01:03:59Rivera even cut off the ring from Pernell Whitaker
01:04:05that doesn't happen either
01:04:06no one has been able to do that before
01:04:09the question is it all coming too late
01:04:14Rivera was awfully patient in the early rounds
01:04:16when we thought he should have gone at Whitaker a little harder
01:04:19this is what he should have been doing in the first six rounds
01:04:30Whitaker not throwing much
01:04:32Rivera looking to land a couple more hard shots
01:04:35Whitaker ducks into the corner against the taller man
01:04:39and doesn't get anything out of it
01:04:42now that's when you got to play your tricks
01:04:45and you got to play your tricks good
01:04:46you got to drop your hand
01:04:47you got to bounce
01:04:48you got to spin
01:04:49you got to run
01:04:50and convince the younger fella
01:04:53hey I've got lots of energy
01:04:55Wilfredo Rivera looking over Whitaker's shoulder
01:04:58at you and me George
01:04:59and winking at us
01:05:00he believes that he's taking the thing
01:05:02from Pernell Whitaker
01:05:04he thinks he's got it
01:05:05he thinks he's got one of the biggest upsets
01:05:08in recent years in boxing
01:05:10in a couple of minutes
01:05:11we'll find out
01:05:24look at the swelling above Whitaker's left eye
01:05:26he has never looked like that before
01:05:28what happened here
01:05:31when you get older
01:05:32you don't want to dry out
01:05:34go without water
01:05:35and dehydrate yourself anymore
01:05:36you want to be a wealthy fella
01:05:38and what comes along with it
01:05:39huffing
01:05:40swelling
01:05:41ha ha
01:05:42you got to pay those moves
01:05:43your body's just not as resilient
01:05:45as it is when you're perfectly trained
01:05:46it's not the body
01:05:47you just don't want to put it through the grind
01:05:48to make it like that anymore
01:05:50yep
01:05:51you can do it
01:05:52but you got to want it
01:05:54well according to punch stat numbers in round 12
01:05:58Whitaker threw 32 punches
01:06:00and Rivera threw 70
01:06:02Whitaker landing 11
01:06:04Rivera landing 24
01:06:05I don't see how you could score the round any other way
01:06:07other than for Wilfredo Rivera
01:06:09and there's Harold Letterman's card
01:06:11Harold
01:06:12Jim
01:06:13I think it's the end of it here in boxing
01:06:15I've got a 115
01:06:17113
01:06:187 rounds to 5
01:06:19Wilfredo Rivera
01:06:21Jim
01:06:22I just go for the aggressive guy every time
01:06:23I mean this is effective aggressiveness
01:06:25he moved forward
01:06:26he punched
01:06:27he landed
01:06:28you can't take it away from a guy
01:06:30who's the effective aggressor
01:06:32he will win 99% of the time
01:06:35Wilfredo Rivera carried this fight to Whitaker
01:06:37backed him up
01:06:38he hurt him
01:06:39he whacked him
01:06:40he did everything he has to do
01:06:42to become the welterweight champion of the world
01:06:43George you think Pernell held on and won the fight
01:06:45I think he had too many of the earlier rounds
01:06:47in my mind
01:06:48I think that pulls out for him
01:06:50Rivera was trying to catch up
01:06:51and he caught up
01:06:52in the last round as far as winning
01:06:54but I don't think he had enough rounds in the bank
01:06:56in my mind
01:06:58but then I'm not a judge
01:07:00well there you have it
01:07:01I mean those are
01:07:02those are the two ways
01:07:03that this particular pendulum could swing
01:07:08either Whitaker won it
01:07:09by putting away the early rounds
01:07:11and building a commanding lead
01:07:13or Rivera won it
01:07:14by being more aggressive
01:07:16and by being the commander
01:07:18in the late rounds
01:07:19final punch stat numbers
01:07:22and you're going to look at a huge disparity
01:07:24in punches thrown
01:07:25you can see that
01:07:26Wilfredo Rivera through 175
01:07:28more punches than Whitaker
01:07:30landed more than Whitaker
01:07:32and even though the percentage is lower
01:07:35he was backing Pernell up for the last seven rounds
01:07:38of the fight
01:07:40power punches and Pernell threw more of them tonight
01:07:43than he might normally throw
01:07:45only landed 20 out of 93
01:07:47look at that
01:07:48402 power punches for Rivera
01:07:50and he landed 141 of them
01:07:52so by punch stat numbers
01:07:53there's a disparity
01:07:55in favor of Rivera in activity
01:07:57but in favor of Whitaker in terms of accuracy
01:08:00let's go to Michael Buffer
01:08:02ladies and gentlemen
01:08:03we go to the scorecards
01:08:04and we have a split decision
01:08:07Barbara Perez scores the bout
01:08:11116 to 113
01:08:13she has it for Rivera
01:08:15George St. Ada scores the bout
01:08:20115 to 113
01:08:22he has it for Whitaker
01:08:24Tomasu Tamehara scores the bout
01:08:28117 to 112
01:08:31for the winner by split decision
01:08:33and still
01:08:35WBC welterweight champion of the world
01:08:39Pernell Sweetie Whitaker
01:08:44with Whitaker
01:09:06George Foreman I got one question for you
01:09:09did that decision say that you've got to beat a great champion like Whitaker
01:09:13by a wider margin than that
01:09:16no doubt about it
01:09:17Rivera did a good job in the final round
01:09:19but when it was very important to establish himself as the
01:09:22the fighter to win this fight
01:09:23he laid back too long
01:09:25the first six rounds were clearly Pernell Whitaker
01:09:27and big for Pernell Whitaker
01:09:29let's go to Larry Merchant with the winner
01:09:32Sweetie Whitaker
01:09:33all right Pernell congratulations
01:09:36but barely
01:09:38did you think when you heard them say split decision
01:09:41that you had lost this title
01:09:43no not at all
01:09:45not at all
01:09:46it was a good fight you know
01:09:47these guys
01:09:49got to understand these guys don't come in
01:09:51they come in to win
01:09:52you know
01:09:53but the fight was easy for me you know
01:09:55but um
01:09:56it wasn't easy for you in the last rounds
01:09:58when he seemed to be pressing you
01:10:00hitting you more than we're used to seeing you hit
01:10:03that's that's
01:10:04you guys will spoil you
01:10:05you know you guys think I can't get hit
01:10:06you know but uh
01:10:07obviously you know it was a good fight
01:10:09he was hungry he wanted to win
01:10:11he wanted to win
01:10:12he wanted to win
01:10:13and um you can't afford that you know
01:10:14but you know I always do the things that get me through
01:10:17were
01:10:18were you in the kind of condition that could give
01:10:2112 Pernell Whitaker rounds
01:10:23you've seen it
01:10:24you know
01:10:25obviously I could go 12 rounds
01:10:27no 12 rounds
01:10:28but what we saw is him coming on in the last half of the fight
01:10:32John Snyder
01:10:33oh so
01:10:34but you know I'm a good finisher you know
01:10:36I can finish I can do it all
01:10:38it's nothing I haven't done
01:10:39there's nothing that I haven't done
01:10:41that's already been done
01:10:43what gave
01:10:44what about him gave you the most trouble
01:10:46oh no it was no problem he just came in
01:10:48he was ready
01:10:49you know he was ready
01:10:50you know what he came in to win the fight
01:10:52and and I just came in I was I was prepared
01:10:55for the pick his best
01:10:56how did the
01:10:57how did the thing away from the fighter
01:10:59he's a good fighter
01:11:00how did the bleeding forehead
01:11:02play into the fight
01:11:04um
01:11:05who forehead
01:11:06Joe
01:11:07his forehead
01:11:08and all the blood that was coming
01:11:09you have to ask him
01:11:10you know
01:11:11I just took advantage of what I had
01:11:12you know
01:11:13it was a good shot
01:11:14you know if we had butting heads like that
01:11:16I think I would be bleeding
01:11:17no but
01:11:18we didn't see on our pictures
01:11:19I know
01:11:20you always see
01:11:21you always see everything that I do wrong
01:11:23no
01:11:24you know obviously
01:11:25we're going to leave out of here like this
01:11:27one more time for the Gipper
01:11:29well
01:11:31just tell us
01:11:32just tell us
01:11:33uh
01:11:34you know how you have to you have to bring in the big fights
01:11:36you know
01:11:37I can't keep obviously these guys get up for fighters like myself just as well as
01:11:42once I can get up get one of these bums in the ring that can stand up and give me a challenge that I can prepare for
01:11:47all right
01:11:48then you can see you can get a great fight
01:11:50are you saying what I said earlier that it may be easier for you to fight a great fighter because you're going to be in top top shape and motivated
01:12:00I'm always in top great shape you know
01:12:02I don't go in camp
01:12:03I don't half step
01:12:04I don't play around
01:12:05I don't cut corners
01:12:06I don't do anything but work towards my opponent
01:12:09so you know I came in in great shape
01:12:11and I came in prepared
01:12:13in preparation of going 12 rounds
01:12:15which I didn't take him for granted
01:12:17no one knew about this guy
01:12:19you guys didn't know anything too much about him
01:12:21but he showed himself
01:12:23he showcased himself
01:12:24he's a great fighter
01:12:25he's a good individual
01:12:26and I'm sure he'll be world champion when the time comes
01:12:29given the fact that decisions can be crazy
01:12:32do you just feel a little bit lucky tonight that you got out of here with this
01:12:36no I don't feel lucky
01:12:38you know I came in to win
01:12:40whatever it takes to win
01:12:41you know
01:12:42for now for 12 years straight I've been a winner
01:12:45that is true
01:12:47and I'm going to continue to be a winner until I pass on
01:12:50do you think that a champion who has been around as long as you have
01:12:54and this was your 19th championship fight
01:12:57it's time for me to come work beside you now Larry
01:13:00might get the benefit of doubt in some close rounds
01:13:03and that that helped you tonight
01:13:05oh no I don't want
01:13:06I don't want
01:13:07I don't want to go into that
01:13:08you know I'm not going to say that the judges were for me
01:13:10you know that's picking
01:13:12you know I don't choose the judges
01:13:14I don't pick the judges
01:13:16I don't know the judges
01:13:17they don't
01:13:19who's next
01:13:20if you want a big fight
01:13:21you might be next Larry
01:13:22I'm fighting for your job
01:13:23I can't win
01:13:24I can't win the interview
01:13:26we hear there are negotiations going on with Trinidad
01:13:29is this true?
01:13:30Trinidad
01:13:31obviously it is and all
01:13:32and you know with guys like that the fights that the fans want to see
01:13:36the people want to see
01:13:37let's get up for it
01:13:38let's go let's keep them from waiting
01:13:39obviously I just go on and on proving myself when I don't have to
01:13:43Larry he's never back down on anybody
01:13:45he's never back down on anybody
01:13:46he's never you know that
01:13:47alright guys
01:13:48he'll fight Trinidad
01:13:49he'll fight Trinidad
01:13:50he'll fight Chavez
01:13:51he'll fight Deloria
01:13:52he'll fight anybody out there
01:13:53alright I know and he'll fight me
01:13:54thank you very Peewee
01:13:56thank you sweet pea
01:13:57you've had a great fight
01:13:58hang with me
01:14:01bring you back to the convention center
01:14:03cuento de la garraf
01:14:04hang with me
01:14:05good fight
01:14:06good fight
01:14:07alright
01:14:08Wilfredo
01:14:09thank you very much
01:14:11congratulations on a great fight
01:14:14did you think you had won the fight
01:14:17you think you had won the fight
01:14:20claro
01:14:22I'm pressing hard
01:14:23I'm working hard
01:14:24every time he went
01:14:25he go for the
01:14:26for the holding
01:14:27jab holding
01:14:28use your head
01:14:30go
01:14:31in this area
01:14:32you know
01:14:33the belt
01:14:34alright do you think he got the benefit of the doubt
01:14:36because he's been such a long time
01:14:39highly respected champion
01:14:41he's concerned that you know he was a sculptor many times
01:14:42he's concerned that you know he was a sculptor many times
01:14:44he's concerned that you know he was a sculptor many times
01:14:51he's concerned that about the scale when he went up on the scale and got off
01:14:55he doesn't he doesn't believe that Whitaker actually made his way
01:15:02so he is saying in effect that he thinks that Whitaker got a lot of the benefit of doubts here tonight
01:15:08because that it's okay
01:15:10it's not only because he is not only because he's a wrestler but a lot of is not only because you're not only because you're going to be up on the scale
01:15:15He's concerned that about the scale when he went up on the scale and got off
01:15:16he don't think he doesn't believe that Whitaker actually made his way
01:15:18so he is saying in effect that he thinks that Whitaker got a lot of the benefit of doubts here tonight
01:15:23it's not only because he's the champion but the uh the promoters are the uh he's he fights for
01:15:42the promoter of this fight tell us about the headbutt and how the blood affected your fight
01:15:53support in my eyes and most of the time i was only fighting whitaker with one eye because i couldn't
01:16:13see out of the other eye so do you think that the blood that was pouring down over your face
01:16:20was the ultimate determining factor in this fight
01:16:40yeah regardless of the blood i know i want this fight you know he was fighting a little dirty he
01:16:44hit me below the belt he was hitting me with his head he was fighting dirty thank you very much
01:16:48wilfredo i appreciate it two minutes please i say hello people thank you for for helping me in this
01:16:55on this island i love this island welcome to puerto rico when i go from puerto rico thank you very much
01:17:02jim george thank you very much larry i'll tell you what whitaker says he'll fight quartet he'll fight
01:17:09trinidad he'll fight chavez i got one question will he fight wilfredo rivera again this kid deserves the
01:17:14rematch i don't think so but if i'm his manager referto i'll tell i'll be demanding a rematch and
01:17:18i think he could win it too this guy deserves a rematch well he certainly wouldn't be in any way
01:17:23intimidated or afraid of uh whitaker the next time around the way through the woods now and how to
01:17:27find uh the what is the gingerbread house right he knows the way to the wood to the gingerbread house
01:17:31this time well let's go back to the whole theme of the evening you'll recall at the start of the
01:17:35evening this is all about the question of whether somebody's going to set up whitaker versus quartet down the
01:17:40road and you saw quartet whack out his opponent with a terrific technically brilliant third round
01:17:45knockout if quartet got ready to go in against whitaker three months from now
01:17:50quartet if i'm telling whitaker leave quartet alone for the time being yeah i quartet looked sensational
01:17:56great job tonight champ thank you very much all right larry you're back yeah and uh i thought that
01:18:03pernell won the fight seven rounds to five would be that as it may um this has been a pretty good
01:18:09duty down here in in saint martin's island but uh you want to know that next week we're going to be
01:18:15in north forks north dakota so it isn't grand forks north dakota forks north dakota so it isn't
01:18:22it isn't all peaches and cream and breezes and palm trees i'm sure it's going to be very nice larry
01:18:30but we are looking forward to going up there seeing all the trees stripped of their bark
01:18:36uh during this week as we gambled around the island made a very powerful impression on me i'd never
01:18:43seen anything quite like that what that fierce hurricane did here and that's where i started
01:18:48using that metaphor of whether somebody's bark was going to be stripped and certainly ike corte
01:18:55stripped his foe but none of us expected to see that pernell whitaker's bark would peel a little bit too
01:19:02and now what we're going to have to find out is whether indeed when he steps up to a corte or a
01:19:08trinidad he can step it up to his old championship style all right that'll be uh something that we'll
01:19:16see down the road as we follow the careers of ike corte vernell whitaker and maybe wilfredo rivera also
01:19:23so we'll be back with a final word on what happened in the ring first let's look ahead to some upcoming
01:19:27programming on hbo hey now if you want to mess with somebody just move fast say man what's up oh
01:19:37men if they ever ask you to be able to ricky make show and they put you in the soundproof booth
01:19:42don't come out the booth they got a surprise for you
01:19:45the hbo comedy hour sinbad son of a preacher man giving comedy some soul premieres saturday night
01:19:57at 9 45 on hbo from hbo pictures once there were the major leagues and there were the negro leagues until
01:20:071945 when all that was about to change satchel page josh gibson
01:20:27the
01:20:33and
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01:20:37the
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01:20:53This has been a presentation
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