Pernell Whitaker vs Julio Cesar Chavez

Pernell Whitaker retained his WBC welterweight championship when his 12-round contest with Julio Cesar Chavez was declared a majority draw at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on September 10, 1993. Whitaker weighed the contracted limit of 145 lb and entered with 32 victories and one defeat, while Chavez scaled 142 lb and brought an unbeaten record of 87 wins, 75 inside the distance. Jack Woodruff scored the fight 115-113 for Whitaker, but Mickey Vann and Franz Marti each returned cards of 115-115. The verdict allowed Chavez to remain undefeated, although most ringside observers believed Whitaker had won clearly.

The contest matched the two men widely regarded as the finest active fighters in the world. Chavez, the WBC light-welterweight champion, had won championships in three weight divisions and was attempting to add a fourth. Whitaker had previously held titles at lightweight and light-welterweight before defeating James “Buddy” McGirt for the welterweight championship six months earlier. Chavez’s camp insisted upon a limit two pounds below the normal welterweight maximum, but Whitaker still appeared the naturally stronger man on the night. The official attendance was 59,995, though contemporary estimates placed the crowd above 63,000. Most supported Chavez, and Mexican flags were visible throughout the vast building as the fighters entered the ring.

Chavez advanced from the opening bell, seeking to narrow the ring and begin the body attack which had broken down so many opponents. Whitaker moved to his right, keeping his southpaw lead foot outside Chavez’s left and using a quick right jab to interrupt the challenger’s approach. Chavez took the first two rounds on all three official cards by maintaining the pressure, although he was already having difficulty landing cleanly. Whitaker seldom remained directly in front of him and used small turns rather than hurried retreats, leaving Chavez repeatedly required to reset his feet before punching.

Whitaker became more assertive in the third. He drove three successive jabs into Chavez’s face and began following them with straight left hands. His upper body remained loose and his stance deceptively relaxed, enabling him to slip punches at close range without surrendering his position. By the fourth, he was controlling the exchanges, catching Chavez as he came forward and either stepping around him or tying him up before a reply could be delivered. Whitaker’s clinching and his habit of trapping Chavez’s arms frustrated the challenger, but referee Joe Cortez permitted the men to work at close quarters. Chavez had one of his best rounds in the fifth. Urged forward by his corner, he landed right-hand leads and a left to the body during a strong attack which briefly forced Whitaker to give ground.

The sixth brought the bout’s principal foul. Whitaker landed a low left hand, causing Chavez to double over, and Cortez stopped the action to allow the challenger time to recover. No point was deducted. Once the contest resumed, Whitaker returned to his jab and straight left, while Chavez struggled to establish his customary attack downstairs. Instead of being driven backwards, Whitaker frequently stood near him, blocked or smothered the incoming punches and answered before moving off at an angle. Chavez continued to pursue in the seventh, but Whitaker’s quicker hands enabled him to complete his work first. The eighth was the champion’s most productive round. He landed repeatedly with both hands, including sharp jabs and short lefts as Chavez came forward, and the previously noisy crowd became noticeably quieter. Later punch statistics credited Whitaker with 50 connections during the round.

Chavez recovered some ground in the ninth, landing several right hands and left hooks while Whitaker’s activity briefly declined. Yet he couldn’t sustain the improvement. Chavez began the tenth urgently, but Whitaker met the advance with straight left hands and soon resumed command. The champion was no longer relying entirely upon movement. He stood his ground for spells, beat Chavez to the punch and pushed him backwards during several exchanges. Chavez, accustomed to weakening opponents with steady pressure, was instead being forced to reach and take punches as he tried to close the distance.

Whitaker controlled much of the eleventh with his jab, defensive movement and accurate left hand. Chavez’s young son Omar appeared at the corner steps before the final round and called encouragement to his father, whose seconds plainly believed he needed a strong finish. Chavez pressed forward in the twelfth, but Whitaker remained difficult to catch. He moved around the perimeter, tied up when necessary and landed the cleaner punches as the challenger followed. There were no knockdowns during the contest. Chavez finished with damage to the bridge of his nose, while Whitaker remained comparatively unmarked.

The punch totals supported the general ringside impression. Whitaker was credited with landing 311 punches to Chavez’s 220 and connected with 39 per cent of his attempts, compared with 35 per cent for the challenger. He also threw 153 more punches. Several unofficial cards gave Whitaker the contest by margins ranging from 115-113 to 117-111. The Associated Press scored it 116-112, while both The Ring and Sports Illustrated scored it 117-111 for Whitaker.

There was a prolonged wait before ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr delivered the result. Woodruff’s 115-113 card favoured Whitaker, but the two scores of 115-115 produced the majority draw. The announcement was met with scattered boos despite the overwhelmingly pro-Chavez crowd. Whitaker retained his championship but was denied the official victory which his performance appeared to merit. Chavez raised his arms at the final bell, though he later went to Whitaker’s corner and acknowledged his courage.

The scoring caused immediate and lasting controversy. Whitaker’s camp later protested after reports that Vann had independently deducted a point for the sixth-round low blow, despite Cortez having ordered no such deduction. Only the referee possessed the authority to impose that penalty. Vann denied scoring improperly, and the protest was eventually withdrawn. The official result remained unchanged: Whitaker 32-1-1 and Chavez 87-0-1.

Whitaker had succeeded where numerous opponents had failed. He prevented Chavez from setting his feet, denied him prolonged access to the body and met his pressure with sufficient strength to compete at close range. Chavez never ceased advancing, but much of his aggression was ineffective because Whitaker controlled the distance and dictated when the exchanges began and ended. The draw preserved Chavez’s unbeaten record, yet the contest was remembered principally as Whitaker’s finest performance and as one of the most disputed decisions in championship boxing.

I’ve never considered Whitaker-Chavez a difficult fight to score. Chavez was a magnificent pressure fighter, unbeaten in 87 contests and adored across Mexico, but Whitaker made him look ordinary. This was meant to settle boxing’s pound-for-pound argument. It did, regardless of what two judges wrote down.

Whitaker didn’t run. He controlled distance with the right jab, stepped outside Chavez’s lead foot and tied him up whenever the Mexican got close enough to work. More importantly, he stood his ground at times and pushed Chavez backwards. That destroyed the idea that Chavez merely needed to catch him. He did catch him occasionally, particularly in the fifth and ninth, but never sustained the body attack that normally broke opponents down.

By the later rounds, Chavez was following rather than cutting off the ring. Whitaker was landing first, turning him and leaving him reaching at fresh air. The majority draw was a rotten decision. I had Whitaker winning clearly, and nearly everyone watching without an agenda did too. Chavez remained unbeaten on paper, but Whitaker proved he was the better fighter that night. No amount of official ink can alter what happened between the ropes.