ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pernell Whitaker faces Oscar De La Hoya in the best welterweight match-up since 1981.
Pernell Whitaker dropped his hands, stuck out his chin and wiggled his hips in the middle of the ring as Jeff Mayweather came after him.
``Sweet Pea'' was feeling fine, and he couldn't resist one last bit of showmanship in his final sparring session before he defends his World Boxing Council welterweight title Saturday night against Oscar De La Hoya.
``I feel like a young man again,'' Whitaker said. ``The way my legs have come back I feel like a kid again. I'm ready to do the things I used to do as a lightweight.''
At 33, Whitaker is trying to turn back the clock for one last great performance against De La Hoya, a fighter nine years younger who many think could be a boxing superstar for years to come.
Whitaker may be a step slower, but he's as fit as he's been since his days as a lightweight champion. And he's just as quick with a quip as he has been in a pro career that has spanned 13 years.
``This is not the music awards of a concert of some kind,'' Whitaker said at Wednesday's final prefight news conference. ``This is the Academy Awards. And I figure about 8:00 or 8:30 Saturday night I'll be picking up my Oscar.''
Whitaker finds himself in the unfamiliar role of an underdog in what is being promoted as the best welterweight fight since Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Thomas Hearns in their epic first fight in 1981.
The oddsmakers have their reasons for making De La Hoya a 3-1 pick, despite the fact that only a disputed decision loss to Jose Ramirez in 1988 and a questionable draw with Julio Cesar Chavez in 1993 mar Whitaker's record.
``Right now I'm still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world until someone proves otherwise or I retire,'' Whitaker said. ``I'm ready for this fight like I've never been ready. Physically and mentally, this is the best I've ever felt.''
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB