The Craftiest Southpaw Of All Time

But as much as he clowned, it was a terrible mistake for a competitor to not take him seriously. , Whitaker was severly dangerous when he needed to be.

Jabs can be difficult for southpaw fighters, as their opponents opposite lead hand can easily get in the way of landing clean. As such, a lot of fighters focus more on controlling their opponents lead hand to clear a path for their rear, rather than trying to jab around it.

This was not so for Pernell Whitaker. Whitaker was a total master of the open stance jab, making it the foundation of his entire style.

In fact, Pernell heavily utilized the same circle and jab footwork as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Sugar Ray Leonard. But astonishingly, hbe found a way to make it work as a southpaw. If you haven’t seen my Muhammad Ali video on this technique, I’ve left a link in the discription. But the basic is that Ali would cross step his back foot behind him as he jabbed, hopped and pivoted off of his lead leg. This footwork pattern is incredibly effective at turning and getting the inside angle, keeping a fighter safely sideways while opening up his opponent simultaneously.

As a southpaw, Pernell used this footwork pattern to circle to the outside, which seems fairly straight forward, except for the fact that Whitaker needed to keep his foot on the inside of his opponents to cleanly land his jabs, while circling in the opposite direction.

[jokerferrufino]

A legend passed away his legacy will never be forgotten

[polotrey]

Rest in peace Sweet Pea. You were one of the best

[mandarkastronomonov]

Man! What a shock. My condolences to Whitaker’s family. 😢

[derricklyons]

Possibly one of the most all around skilled fighters ever, he had defence, footwork, could fight on the inside, could fight going backwards, forwards, good jab, good feints, good combination punching, good body punching, this man had just about every skill set needed to be successful in boxing. Rip champ you will never be forgotten.

[KD]

RIP to THE GREATEST defensive boxer of all time!!!

[dorgenois]

i love how at 4:30 he was in the corner ducking every shot and came out of nowhere with that lighting fast combination then walked off like it wan't nothing before his opponent can processed what happened. I watched that like 50 times

[leroisansvis]

One of the most technical boxers ever plus the most effective southpaw jab ever. You rarely see southpaw fighters with this jab efficiency.

[Troy-xezc]

One of the top 10 greatest fighters of all time, and the greatest defensive fighter of all time, Sweet Pea was absolutely incredible!!!

[ReemusBoxing]

Killing it with these film studies bro🔥

[SuperLisamason]

RIP to the goat, , rest in paradise brother

[dandaddavi]

It's sad that most people only check up on this guru after news of his death.
Shout outs to the original fight fans who remained loyally aware and treasured this legend while he was still alive.
RIP Sweet Pea

[Jay-qmcx]

One of the best fighters of all time. Rest easy champ!

[percozet]

Man... R.I.P to an insane fighter and human. Regis Prograis loves to study him also

[DepressionShaman]

RIP SWEET PEA! There will never be another Pernell Whitaker.

[kobiesboxing]

The great Pernell has passed on, but his boxing lessons live forever.

[manotickstrengthconditioni]

I’d like to see something on James Toney. There was a long stretch where he was my favourite fighter.

[ricdragon]

RIP pernell you will always be remembered

[Daveyknowthevibes]

He passed away and now they chatting about him constantly... He wasnt getting that kind of attention when he was alive smh they talk about you more when you're dead

[MisterVolts]

OMG this just happened on Sunday... very sad... RIP Pernell Whitaker many years of great fight showmanship... go with God brother. 🙏

[srpdesigns]

The footwork, the speed, the way he made his opponent commit in order to close the gap and then counter was just so much fun to watch!!!