Pernell Whitaker vs. Buddy McGirt II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | October 1, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC welterweight title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Whitaker wins via 12-round unanimous decision (118–112, 117–112, 117–110) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pernell Whitaker vs. Buddy McGirt II, billed as The Final Say, was a professional boxing match contested on October 1, 1994, for Whitaker's WBC welterweight title.[1]
Following a hotly disputed draw with Julio César Chávez, reigning WBC welterweight Pernell Whitaker would then return to his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia to make a successful defense against Santos Cardona, winning by an easy unanimous decision.[2] Following his win over Cardona, Whitaker would next agree to a rematch with James "Buddy" McGirt.[3] Whitaker and McGirt had fought the previous year, with Whitaker scoring a close unanimous decision to capture McGirt's WBC welterweight title. Following the fight, McGirt would undergo surgery for a torn rotator cuff, an injury that had plagued him throughout both the Whitaker fight and his previous title defense against Genaro Léon.[4] Though expected to be out of boxing for a year, McGirt would return 7 months later with a unanimous decision victory over Nick Rupa.[5] McGirt would ultimately go 5–0 after his first loss to Whitaker and insisted on a rematch, calling Whitaker a "punk" and accusing him of ducking him.[6]
The fight
Unlike their close first fight, Whitaker would dominate most of the fight and won by a lopsided unanimous decision. Though Whitaker controlled most of the fight, McGirt would score the only knockdown of the fight, sending Whitaker down on the seat of his pants after landing a right hand. Knockdown notwithstanding, Whitaker threw a considerable amount of punches more than McGirt, throwing 816 punches of which he landed 330 for a 40% success rate, while McGirt only landed 154 of his 504 thrown punches for a 31% rate. The fight would go the full 12 rounds and all three of the judge's scorecards had Whitaker winning comfortably with scores of 118–112, 117–112 and 117–110.[7]
Aftermath
Whitaker said of the knockdown "It was just a flash knockdown, it caught me off balance, it didn't bother me at all. It made me more aware of what I had to do. I still think I got the round."
