show down at 140; Taylor V Whitaker

Following on form the discussions of an Arguello v Whitaker fight , I thought I'd throw this one out there. This fight could and should have happened, if it were not for the two former Olympians being close friends, and stable mates. The concensus seems to be that Whitaker would be troubled by tall, rangey fighters-like Arguello or Hearns, but i reckon that Taylor could have also been more than a handful for him. It wasn't often that he had to face an opponent faster than him, and blessed with fantastic skills to boot, common opponents Buddy Mcgirt, and Chavez were outboxed by both of them (prior to the stoppage in Taylors case), the difference being that Chavez barely landed a glove on Whitaker whilst he handed Taylor a beating from which he never really recovered, but against the relatively light punching,defensively minded Whitaker, Taylor's love of a tear up would have not been such a liability. It's a damn hard fight to call, but I reckon that Taylors speed, timing and ability would cancel out alot of Whitakers wizardry- I see Taylor landing more punchs than almost any of his other opponents,and edging a very close decision with his greater workrate, volume of punchs, and being the one trying to force the fight swinging it in his favour.

Intriguing.....shame they were best mates and in the same camp........

Taylor had the quickest hands I've ever seen....Whittaker wasn't quite as fast but had a better boxing brain and was more elusive...

Taylor could've had his numbe...? and would have success early as speed kills..... but I think Whittaker shades him on quality and takes a decision...

Pernell for me..

Intelligence plus natural ability beats natural ability alone virtually every time, I'd have thought. Whitaker a master at evading punches; Taylor less so. Widish decision in favour of Sweet Pea.

captain carrantuohil wrote:Intelligence plus natural ability beats natural ability alone virtually every time, I'd have thought. Whitaker a master at evading punches; Taylor less so. Widish decision in favour of Sweet Pea.

Summed up quite nicely I think. Its easier to throw many punches when you land them like against chavez. Not so easy when you are missing alot of them.

Would have been interesting to see 'Sweet Pea' facing someone who could rival or even trump him in the hand speed department, but that really is the only department where Taylor would hold any advantage. Keeping in mind Whitaker's phenomenal timing - the best antidote to blazing speed - and elusive powers, it's hard to see how he loses to Taylor. Both were superb off the back foot, but in order for the fight to come to the boil it would probably be Taylor who'd have to chase; his defence was notably less water-tight when he did so, and Whitaker, who was the consumate counter-puncher, is simply too good to miss out on that kind of opportunity.

Whitaker takes total control in the second half of the bout, eventually winning by something along the lines of 117-111.

Agreed. I think the prominent punch would be the left hook, especially as whitaker manouvers/lures him into position. Might employ that short chopping right but I don't see him throwing too many stray punches or ever getting straight on enough to let Taylor engage.

*Slaps self in face* Of course I meant the Right hook and Short Left

Shah, it's particularly good to see you posting a little more regularly here. I don't know whether this is a brief period of relatively prolific posting or not, but it would be great to have any views that you care to offer on our ongoing 606 v2 Hall of Fame feature that you will see at the top of the main page. The latest group of five are just coming up for their final count, and there's one well-known fighter there who is teetering on the brink of being voted off the candidates slate for ever. If you have the time and inclination, do give it a look.

As unpopular as this may be, i can actually see Taylor edging this one, just think his extraordinarly fast hands would make it difficult for whitaker to be as illusive as usual.

For me it's not just his speed though Dave, Taylor was a masterful boxer in he own right, great footwork, good punch variety - many rated him as the best prospect of the incredibly strong 84 olympic team, Yes he was head strong and sometimes opted to fight when he should have boxed, but I don't think thats a problem against Whitaker. I think he hits Whitaker more than anyone else could have done, throws plenty of eye catching combo's and nicks a close decision