Photos by Ring Magazine/Getty Images
A new year dawned with a flurry of news and historic events in just the first few weeks of the year.
The Green Bay packers defeated the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XXXI. Just days before, Frank Sinatra, now 81, was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launched and retuned home safely after 10 days in space. And on January 20, President Bill Clinton was inaugurated after winning re-election over Bob Dole.
The year was 1997.
As winter continued to grip most of the country, boxing fans were excited about what was on the schedule.
Rematches would rule the day as three big matches were on the horizon. Lennox Lewis would again meet Oliver McCall, Mike Tyson would try for revenge when facing Evander Holyfield, and Arturo Gatti would look for a repeat performance against Tracy Harris-Patterson.
Four days after Clinton’s inauguration, HBO would televise its first boxing event of the year. Although it was not a rematch, it was a fight that had significant importance.
On January 24, 1,700 fans packed a small upstairs ballroom in Atlantic City’s Convention Hall to watch pound-for-pound king Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker defend his 147 pound WBC Welterweight crown against Diosbelys Hurtado.
Just one week earlier, Oscar De La Hoya had won a unanimous decision over Miguel Gonzalez. With a mega showdown penciled in for the coming spring, fans watched to see if Whitaker could now uphold his end of the bargain by beating Hurtado.
That win would ink the deal with De La Hoya who would move up from 140 to 147 pounds to challenge Whitaker.
Whitaker (39-1-1, 16 KOs) was viewed as perfect in the eyes of many. He had one disputed loss against Jose Luis Ramirez and one controversial draw against Julio Cesar Chavez on his record. Most boxing fans and pundits considered the experienced southpaw with amazing defensive prowess as undefeated and dismissed the pair of blemishes.
Given his experience and his opponents lack thereof, Whitaker, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist and four time champion, was installed as a solid 10-1 favorite. He held a decisive edge in championships rounds, 214-0, over Hurtado.
All of the advantages aside, the pressure was squarely on Whitaker’s 33 year old shoulders to take care of business. With De La Hoya seated at ringside, and while fans anxiously anticipated their meeting, a loss would put the mega showdown and mega payday in freefall.
With the night’s business now front and center, many fans wondered, who is Diosbelys Hurtado?
The 24-year-old Hurtado (20-0, 13 KOs) was undefeated in his two years as a professional. The Cuban star who had escaped Cuba, where professional boxing was banned, defected to the United States in 1994.
As an amateur, Hurtado produced a stellar amateur career record of 221-20. He defeated Joel Casamayor and left many believing that he could, and would, make some noise as a professional.
His task on this night was even more daunting as he faced the slick, experienced southpaw Whitaker. What Hurtado did have in his favor was a five-inch height and a five-inch reach advantage over the champion.
With Larry Merchant, Jim Lampley and George Foreman ready to call the action, ring announcer Michael Buffer began the festivities.
Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. provided final instructions and the bell sounded to begin Round 1.
Whitaker, wearing black trunks, was making the eighth defense of his crown. He moved in a straight line towards the challenger who was outfitted in white trunks with his native Cuban colors.
Just 10 seconds into the bout, Hurtado launched a thudding right hand that put Whitaker on the deck. A stunned Lampley boomed, “And Hurtado plants Whitaker on his butt! Legitimate knockdown with the right hand punch!”
The crowd rose, almost in shock, as a laughing Whitaker quickly climbed to his feet. Flash knockdown or not, Hurtado had his attention and the attention of those watching–both at home and in Atlantic City.
Mercante finished the standing eight count and the action resumed. Whitaker now began to stalk Hurtado looking for payback. Hurtado, moving primarily backward and side to side, began to flurry and immediately began to show off his hand speed.
The flow of the action in Round 2 continued with the normally patient, slick boxer, Whitaker, following and stalking the younger, quicker challenger. Foreman chimed in, “It’s like a jazz musician at a rock concert.”
The action continued to be ugly with Whitaker pursuing Hurtado who was moving and firing. Perhaps with one eye on De La Hoya seated at ringside and one eye on Hurtado in the ring, Whitaker was having trouble finding his challenger.
Sweet Pea looked to bang more to the body in the fourth and fifth rounds. With Lou Duva and Ronnie Shields in his corner, they pleaded with him not to brawl but to work the body, use his jab, and fire quick combinations.
In Round 6, Hurtado launched a crisp left hand that landed high on Whitaker’s head. The champion hit the deck as Lampley screamed, “Down goes Whitaker for the second time in the fight! And Pernell Whitaker is burying himself on the scorecards!”
Whitaker continued to try to be a slugger and walk Hurtado down. He was clipped coming in and may have simply been off balance. As Whitaker quickly rose, clearly more agitated after this knockdown than the first, Foreman shared a piece of advice he had shared so many times before, “He’s following a puncher around. You don’t want to follow a puncher.”
With the fight now progressing into the middle rounds, Lampley surmised, “Somewhere at ringside Oscar De La Hoya can feel the millions draining away.”
Almost on cue, De La Hoya joined the announce team at ringside. Clearly concerned, De La Hoya conceded, “I’m still crossing my fingers.”
Both fighters were hurt in Round 7 and Hurtado had noticeably begun to show signs of slowing down.
In Whitaker’s corner before the eighth round, Shields screamed at his fighter, “You’re behind in the damn fight! The guy was hurt. Don’t bullshit with this guy no more!”
Coming down the stretch, Whitaker continued to press and step up the pace of his attack. Hurtado continued moving and firing combinations, however, his punch output had begun to spiral downward.
With the bout now moving into Round 11, Whitaker had but six minutes remaining. His corner told him that he needed a knockout to win.
As the bell sounded to being the round, Lampley hit viewers with a devastating fact for Whitaker fans, “In his 41 fight career, Pernell Whitaker has never had a knockout beyond the sixth round.” He then punctuated the point, “Never.”
As Whitaker continued to move forward and press, Hurtado continued to chop away at the champion as he moved into punching range.
With 1:22 remaining in the eleventh, Whitaker stepped in and landed a left hand bomb that snapped Hurtado’s head back. The crowd rose as Hurtado, who appeared to be out on his feet, slumped against the ropes and into a corner.
Whitaker, sensing that this was his moment, reared back and threw left hook bomb after left hook bomb. Each blasted home on the side of Hurtado’s face. The challenger covered up with thoughts of survival. Whitaker pounded away with prayers of a stoppage. The bombing continued, one after the other, finally reaching ten before Mercante leaped in to save the wounded challenger from further abuse.
Lampley went wild calling the final seconds, “Oh what left hand by Whitaker! And he takes advantage with four more straight lefts! Arthur Mercante watching! And it’s over! It is over! Pernell Whitaker rescues himself dramatically!”
As Hurtado, unable to return fire, dangled through the bottom and middle ropes, he nearly spilled into the laps of those now standing at ringside. The bout was mercifully stopped by way of a TKO at 1:52 of Round 11.
He now lay flat on his back with his corner and physicians close by.
Mercante took heat after the bout as many pounced at the opportunity to assail him for allowing a defenseless Hurtado to endure such an unmerciful beating. As Lampley put it, “I think Arthur would like to have that one back just a couple punches sooner.”
At the time of the stoppage, Whitaker was down on all three of the judges’ scorecards. Those cards read 93-92, 94-92, and 96-91.
Moments after the victory, Merchant confirmed that Las Vegas had just posted De La Hoya as a 2-1 favorite. Undeterred, Whitaker responded, “The student better bring the teacher an apple or I’m gonna punish him.”
Incredibly, this was the last victory of Whitaker’s career. He would fight just four more times, which included the April showdown with De La Hoya, and suffered three losses and one no decision. It was not the storybook ending to an otherwise great career.
Hurtado regrouped and marched on. After fighting 47 times, he retired with an eight fight win streak and with just three losses on his record.
On a cold winter’s night in January of 1997, Whitaker got his last win, in the most dramatic of fashion, and proved what most of us already knew about his heart and dogged determination.
When defeat looked inevitable, the proud champion, not known for his power or for being a knockout artist, found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
It was dramatic stuff.