A Fighting Life by Lou Duva

Author:Lou Duva
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2016-05-23T16:00:00+00:00

Pernell Whitaker was the 132-pound world champion heading into the US Olympic Box-Offs in Las Vegas on July 5, 1984. Not only was he favored to win the box-offs and make the team, but he was sure to win the gold. That’s how good he was.

But with all the hype, everything changed with a loss to Joe Belinc. Pernell had beaten Belinc convincingly with a 4–1 decision when they first faced each other at the Olympic Trials in Fort Worth, Texas, a month before. Maybe he thought he was going to run through Belinc at the box-offs. Instead, Belinc fought with an aggressive style and dominated Pernell on the judges’ scorecards in that first match at the box-offs, winning 5–0. Pernell took the loss hard. He was ready to pack his bags and head home to Norfolk, Virginia. Lucky I was able to convince him to stay. At this stage of the box-offs, a boxer would have to lose twice in order to get knocked out of going to the Games. So Belinc would have to beat Pernell again in order to knock him off the team. After getting some tapes from ABC, we studied some of the mistakes he had made to improve his form. I really believed he would have left and not been a part of the Olympic team had I not convinced him otherwise. It would have been one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

After the fight we went to a ballroom at the hotel, moved the chairs aside, and I showed him how to beat Belinc. Two days later, Pernell did just that, beating Belinc on a 3–2 decision. Not only did he make the Olympic squad, but was named team captain. That showed me a lot about Pernell. He was a hard worker and was willing to listen to any advice you gave him if he thought it would help him win. Plus, he was a quick study. He picked things up and applied them as easily as most people breathe.

After he turned pro, Pernell was the easiest guys to make fights for. He could do almost anything in the ring and could beat any style: brawler, puncher, boxer. It didn’t matter; Pernell could tame them all.

When Pernell fought James “Buddy” McGirt over at Madison Square Garden on March 6, 1994, Al Certo, Buddy’s manager and trainer, kept yelling before the fight that Buddy was going to knock Pernell out. That was what everyone thought. Buddy was a tough customer; he was a walking buzz saw.1 During his championship career, Buddy had been in the ring with some of the best welterweights in the game, including Meldrick Taylor (lost by TKO), Simon Brown (won by UD), and Livingstone Bramble (won by UD).

Certo wouldn’t shut up. He kept yelling about how Buddy was going to knock Pernell into next week. Besides being a trainer, Certo was a tailor by trade. He made suits for a lot of wise guys. I decided to call his bluff and shut him up.

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