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Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Vásquez

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Boxing match
Showdown of Champions
DateMarch 4, 1995
VenueConvention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBA super welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Julio César Vásquez Pernell Whitaker
Nickname "El Zurdo" "Sweet Pea"
Hometown Santa Fe, Argentina Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Purse $500,000 $1,500,000
Pre-fight record 53–1 (35 KO) 34–1–1 (15 KO)
Age 28 years, 7 months 31 years, 2 months
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm)
Weight 153+3⁄4 lb (70 kg) 153+3⁄4 lb (70 kg)
Style Southpaw Southpaw
Recognition WBA
Super Welterweight Champion		 WBC
Welterweight Champion
The Ring No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter
3-division world champion
Result
Whitaker wins via 12-round unanimous decision (118-110, 118-107, 116-110)

Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Vásquez, billed as Showdown of Champions, was a professional boxing match contested on March 4, 1995 for the WBA super welterweight title.

Background

In February 1995, reigning WBC welterweight champion, American Pernell Whitaker, officially announced that he would be moving up in weight to challenge Argentine Julio César Vásquez for the latter's WBA super welterweight title. Whitaker was seeking to become the fourth man in boxing history to win a world title in four different divisions joining only Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Durán. Vásquez had reigned as super welterweight champion for over two years and had made 10 successful title defenses , but was virtually unknown to American audiences and had never been on as big a stage as he would be for his fight with Whitaker, something Whitaker claimed would be a detriment for him. Whitaker's time in the super welterweight division was expected to last only this fight, as he announced his intentions to go back down to welterweight should he win. Prior to the bout, Whitaker's long-time trainer George Benton had departed following a dispute with Lou Duva, whom both managed and co-trained Whitaker under his company Main Events. Benton's split from Main Event was acrimonious, claiming that Duva "didn't know boxing" and Whitaker was "arrogant and stubborn." To fill the void left by Benton, Ronnie Shields took over as Whitaker's head trainer.

The fight

Whitaker would have little trouble with Vásquez, winning by an easy unanimous decision. However, for the second consecutive fight, Whitaker was knocked down by his opponent. Vásquez would score the knockdown after Whitaker showboated by dropping his hands and was caught off balance with a left hand from Vásquez, though he would recover. As the fight went on, a frustrated Vásquez was warned numerous times for holding and hitting and was deducted one point in each of the ninth and 11th rounds. When fight ended and went to the scorecards, Whitaker won clearly on all three with scores of 118–107, 118–110 and 116–110.

Aftermath

Shortly following his victory, Whitaker would vacate the super welterweight title and announced that he would return to the welterweight division to make a mandatory defence of his WBC welterweight title against top ranked contender Gary Jacobs.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Notes
Super Welterweight 154 lb Pernell Whitaker def. Julio César Vásquez (c) UD 12/12
Welterweight 147 lb Ike Quartey def. Jung-Oh Park TKO 4/12
Welterweight 147 lb Gary Jacobs def. José Miguel Fernández UD 10/10
Heavyweight 200+ lb David Tua def. Bruce Bellocchi TKO 1/10
Lightweight 135 lb Julien Lorcy def. Tommy Barnes TKO 1/8
Super Welterweight 154 lb Aníbal Santiago Acevedo def. Vidal Rodriguez KO 5/8
Heavyweight 200+ lb David Izon def. Ali Allen KO 2/6

^Note 1 For WBA Super Welterweight title
^Note 2 For WBA Welterweight title

Broadcasting

Country Broadcaster
 United States HBO

References

  1. Whitaker Expects to Fight and Have Fun, NY Times article, 1995-02-23, Retrieved on 2020-04-17
  2. Sweet Pea Wins Crown, Daily Press article, 1995-03-05, Retrieved on 2020-04-17
  3. Whitaker Says Bright Lights Will Hurt Bigger Opponent, NY Times article, 1995-03-04, Retrieved on 2020-04-16
  4. Whitaker to Unveil New Showboating Plan, Daily Press article, 1995-03-05, Retrieved on 2020-04-17
  5. Whitaker Beats Vasquez for Junior Middleweight Title, NY Times article, 1995-03-05, Retrieved on 2020-04-18
  6. Whitaker returning to welterweight, Baltimore Sun article, 1995-03-06, Retrieved on 2020-04-18
  7. "BoxRec - event".
Preceded byvs. Mike Bonislawski Julio César Vásquez's bouts
4 March 1995 		Succeeded byvs. Ruben Ruiz
Preceded byvs. Buddy McGirt II Pernell Whitaker's bouts
4 March 1995 		Succeeded byvs. Gary Jacobs
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