THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609210546
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: 91 lines
Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker did an inside job on Wilfredo Rivera on Friday night.
Whitaker won a convincing decision over Rivera - no controversy this time - to retain his World Boxing Council welterweight title before an emotionally charged crowd at the James L. Knight Center.
If the 32-year-old Whitaker's skills showed signs of decline in April, as some contended, he surely made a quick regeneration in five months.
Whitaker and Rivera spent the majority of the night going toe-to-toe, unloading barrages of punches. They never had trouble finding the other man.
Judges Jay Kassees of Tallahassee, Fla., scored it 113-112, John Keane of England had it 115-111 and Mazakazu Uchida of Japan had it 115-113, all for Whitaker. It was Whitaker's seventh successful defense of his WBC title.
Whitaker was an 8-1 favorite at fight time, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.
Hundreds of Rivera's flag-waving Puerto Rican countrymen screamed their support of Rivera and broke out in chants to a drum beat whenever he landed a series of punches.
It was a rematch of their April 12 bout in St. Maarten, a controversial split decision victory for Whitaker, who was sick in the days leading up to that fight.
On Friday, the two put on an entertaining, action-packed fight, but there was no controversy.
``I didn't necessarily think of it as a brawl,'' said Whitaker, who improved to 39-1-1 with 16 knockouts. Rivera is 23-2-1 with 14 knockouts.
The first round was filled with good action, as Whitaker landed a bevy of lefts to go with good right jabs. Both men pressed the action, but Whitaker came out stronger. As the round ended, he shook his head at Rivera as if to say, ``There's more to come.''
Midway through the third round, a roundhouse left by Whitaker opened a cut under the left eye of Rivera, but his cornermen managed to keep it closed the remainder of the bout. It was also in the third round of their last fight that Rivera was cut, but that one was from a head butt.
In the fifth, Whitaker went down when his foot got tangled up with Rivera's while Rivera was throwing a punch. Referee Frank Santore dubiously ruled it a knockdown and gave Whitaker a standing eight count. Later in the round, Rivera hit Whitaker with a low blow.
In the next round, Whitker nailed Rivera with a left, and seconds later Rivera threw another low blow. Santore took away a point. Late in the sixth, Whitaker landed another solid left that sent Rivera sprawling to the canvas. Rivera was up quickly.
``I was looking for that shot the whole night,'' Whitaker said.
As the fight progressed, Whitaker seized control, sticking his jab and snapping off good lefts. Rivera stayed with him toe-to-toe but landed fewer and fewer punches.
Whitaker, one of only four men to win world titles in four weight classes, is 18-1-1 in world title fights. He extended his unbeaten streak to 25 bouts, a string that began in November 1988. The only blemish during that stretch was his controversial 1993 draw with Julio Cesar Chavez.
Next up for Whitaker? Good question.
It was supposed to be golden boy Oscar De La Hoya, but this week he was diagnosed with tendinitis in his rotator cuff. Because De La Hoya has two other scheduled bouts before he meets Whitaker, their showdown is probably pushed back to next fall.
Dino Duva, Whitaker's promoter, said International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Felix Trinidad, World Boxing Association champ Ike Quartey or Sugar Ray Leonard are possible foes for Whitaker in the spring, although no deals have been agreed to. Trinidad watched from ringside Friday to pull for his countryman Rivera.
On the undercard, heavyweight David Tua, who often trains in Virginia Beach, improved to 25-0 with 21 knockouts with a thunderous left that dropped the previously unbeaten Darroll Wilson in the first round.
Tua landed the left just before the bell ending the round, then jumped into the air in celebration as referee Bob Connors stopped the scheduled 12-round bout for the WBC International heavyweight title.
Also on the undercard, Cuban defectors Ramon Garbey and Joel Casamayor made impressive professional debuts, scoring knockouts in scheduled four-round bouts.
Garbey, 183, stopped Kerry Parks, 177, of Fort Myers, Fla., at 1:03 of the second round. Casamayor, 133, worked even more quickly, stopping David Chamendiz, 129 1/2, of Miami, in 1:34 of the first.
``I was patient and calm and never felt nervous,'' Casamayor said. ``I wasn't expecting a quick knockout, but it just came.''
Diobelis Hurtado, 144, made it a sweep for Cuba, improving to 18-0 with a unanimous eight-round decision over Ed Pollard, 144, of Miami. ILLUSTRATION: AP photo
[Pernell Whitaker, left, and Wilfredo Rivera spent the majority of
the night...]
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