⚖️P4P🥇 Pernell Whitaker vs Oscar De La Hoya | FULL FIGHT | WBC Welterweight Title | 12/4/1997

Pernell Whitaker vs. Oscar De La Hoya, billed as Pound for Pound, was a professional boxing match contested on April 12, 1997 for the WBC welterweight championship. The bout featured a matchup of two of the top ranked pound-for-pound fighters in boxing. 33-year-old Pernell Whitaker had been the WBC welterweight champion for four years, captured world titles in four different divisions and had been among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport since 1989, with The Ring magazine listing him number one in their annual pound-for-pound rankings for three consecutive years from 1993 to 1995. He was also recognized as the lineal welterweight champion. The 24–year old Oscar De La Hoya was a perfect 23–0, had already become a three-division world champion and was reigning WBC super lightweight champion, which he had won the previous year after defeating Mexican legend Julio César Chávez. At the time of their fight, De La Hoya and Whitaker were the number two and three ranked pound-for-pound fighters, with only the then-WBC light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. ahead of them. Plans for the mega-fight had been discussed since De La Hoya's victory over Chávez. The bout was all but set in early 1997, though both De La Hoya and Whitaker would first have to get past their mandatory challengers. De La Hoya would make the first, and only, defense of his super lightweight title against the undefeated Miguel Ángel González, while Whitaker would meet Diosbelys Hurtado, who was also unbeaten, in a welterweight title match the following wee. De La Hoya would have little trouble with Gonzalez, scoring a lopsided unanimous decision victory and putting the pressure squarely on Whitaker. Whitaker, however, would have difficulty with Hurtado. Hurtado scored two knockdowns and was ahead on all three official scorecards when Whitaker rallied in the 11th round, scoring 10 unanswered left hooks to Hurtado's head before the referee stopped the fight and awarded Whitaker the technical knockout victory, officially putting the Whitaker–De La Hoya match on. Champion Whitaker was 3 to 1 underdog. 🥊SUCKERPUNCH BOXING🥊 ------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE LIKE 👍🏻 & SUBSCRIBE ✅ ------------------------------------------------------------ #BOXING #FIGHTS #DOCUMENTARY #FULLFIGHTS #CLASSICFIGHTS #UKBOXING