Controversial Fights Feature: Jose Luis Ramirez Vs Pernell Whitaker I – A Bad Decision In Neutral Territory
By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez
For this controversial fight we go back 30 years ago in the lightweight division. It would be the first fight between the WBC World Lightweight Champion Jose Luis Ramirez and Pernell Whitaker. I don’t think there is any doubt on who the winner of the fight was, but why was the decision given to the wrong fighter? Let’s take a look back at the fighters, buildup, the fight itself, and the aftermath of the fight.
The Fighters:
Jose Luis “El Zurdo” Ramirez was from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico and had an impressive record of 102-9, 82 KO’s. He was a southpaw and had an aggressive style. He is also ranked as one of the top punchers of all time and is known to have one of the best chins in boxing. He started to box professional at a young age of 14. The only knockout loss he suffered in his career was at the hands of the great Ruben Olivares, when he was only 18 years old at the time.
Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker was from Norfolk, Virginia and had a record of 40-4-1, 17 KO’s. He was an outstanding amateur boxer with a record of 201-14. Whitaker was in one of the best Olympic boxing teams in 1984 and he would win the Lightweight gold medal in the Olympics. When we think of great defensive fighters, names like Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Andre Ward, and Vasyl Lomachenko come to mind. Before them though it was Pernell Whitaker. He was a slick southpaw with great movement and defense.
The Setup:
Ramirez won the WBC World Lightweight title by stopping Edwin Rosario in a slugfest which was 1984’s Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. However, he would lose the title in his 1st defense against Hector “Macho” Camacho by a unanimous decision in 1985. Ramirez would then get another crack at the WBC title again in 1987 and beat Terrence Ali by unanimous decision. He would follow that up with a stoppage victory over Cornelius Boaz-Edwards in five rounds for his first defense. Whitaker had a great start to his career from 1984-1987 and went undefeated. This prompted him to get a title shot against Ramirez. The fight between Ramirez and Whitaker took place on March 12th, 1988 in France. It would be the 2nd defense of Ramirez’s WBC title. The fight was in neutral territory as Whitaker was from the United States and Ramirez from Mexico. However it should be pointed out that France was the adopted hometown of Ramirez. Ramirez started fighting in France in 1986 and became a fan favorite. He was making his 11th appearance in France against Whitaker. Despite this Whitaker was the favorite in the fight due to his speed and skill set.
The Fight:
Rounds 1-5: I thought the first five rounds went to Whitaker clearly. Although Ramirez was applying pressure, he was not effective and could not cut off the ring. Whitaker did a great job of sticking and moving and at times going to the body of Ramirez. Ramirez was just following Whitaker around the ring.
Round 6-9: I thought Ramirez had won these rounds. Whitaker hurt his left hand in the 6th round and showed the effects of this. Also Whitaker seemed to begin to slow down a little bit and Ramirez was still applying the pressure. Even though Ramirez was only landing one shot at a time, Whitaker was not letting his hands go like in the earlier rounds and did a little more holding and running.
Rounds 10-12: I thought Whitaker won the last 3 rounds. Whitaker came back and started to box well again. Ramirez did have some moments, but Whitaker was still hitting and moving effectively. At times, Whitaker would stand and exchange with Ramirez but not for long. Throughout the whole fight Ramirez was dangerous though. Once the bell ended at the 12th round, it was clear to me who won the fight.
I have Whitaker winning the fight 116-112.
Outcome:
Judge Harry Gibbs scored the fight 117-113 for Whitaker. Judge Newton Campos scored the fight 118-113 for Ramirez. Judge Louis Michel scored the fight 116-115 for Ramirez. Ramirez had won the fight by split decision and retained his title. The scoring was very questionable for sure. Most observers thought Whitaker clearly won. An upset Whitaker went down on his knees in disbelief after the decision was read, while Ramirez was celebrating the victory. During the post-fight interview, Lou Duva (who was Whitaker’s trainer) went off and said the fight was fixed by the WBC President Jose Sulaiman. Was the fight fixed as Lou Duva stated? Were the judges biased in giving Ramirez the fight since he was a fan favorite in France? Did the judges favor Ramirez just because he was the aggressor the entire fight and felt Whitaker just ran? However you think, I felt Whitaker won the fight clearly and I thought it was a bad decision.
Aftermath:
There was justice at the end for Sweet Pea. He would fight Ramirez a year and a half later in his hometown and beat him by a unanimous decision to avenge his loss. Later in his career, Whitaker would be involved in two more controversial decisions. In 1993 with Julio Cesar Chavez and 1997 with Oscar De La Hoya. However, Whitaker would go down as one of the best lightweights of all time defeating fighters such as Roger Mayweather, Azumah Nelson, and Greg Haugen. He would also win the Junior Welterweight, Welterweight, and Junior Middleweight titles later in his career as well. As for Ramirez, he would fight one more time and lose a unanimous decision against Juan Martin Coggi in 1990. Ramirez was a good champion and held the title briefly. Even though he did not win all the big fights, he sure fought his heart out and provided tough fights for everyone he fought.
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