THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 1, 1994 TAG: 9408010181
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
There comes a time in every great athlete's life when boredom becomes the enemy.
No wonder Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker has grown testy with the people who manage his career. He knows better than his handlers how difficult it is for a champion of 30 to keep his edge.
Whitaker is one of lucky ones. The risk of boredom beats brain damage or bankruptcy, two other occupational hazards connected with the fistfight business.
Sweetpea worries more about losing interest than losing to another man in the ring. Very few in the fight racket have ever had the luxury of this lament. But Whitaker has earned the right to complain.
It's like what the old hockey coach once said: There's plenty of room at the top, but not enough to sit down.
At this point in his career, Whitaker has only so many more days at the top. If he wants to spend them preparing for and fighting the best, he should be congratulated, not stifled by boxing's powers that be.
``Exciting'' fights are what Sweetpea says he wants. Otherwise, he fears he'll lose his drive, his focus.
He needs fights that will hold his interest. Fights that will make the monotonous training worth the attention of a 30-year-old five-time world champion.
Naturally, Whitaker will fight again. He has 18 million good reasons for fighting at least four more times on HBO.
And yet, you can't blame Sweetpea for feeling that his career has stalled. At the very point he was recognized as Mr. Pound-for Pound, the slickest fighter on the globe, Whitaker found himself in cold storage.
His one pay day since meeting Julio Cesar Chavez 11 months ago has been an April tune-up against a tunafish named Santos Cardona. The fight was a bore, if not an insult, to both Whitaker and his fans.
There is probably more to Sweetpea's discontent, though, than the urge to avoid riffraff. Each day without the promise of an exciting opponent serves as another nagging reminder that the pinnacle of his career has passed.
Eleven months ago in San Antonio, Whitaker dominated a legend before tens of thousands who filled an indoor football stadium for the fight of the year.
The fight was an international event. Despite the bogus majority draw, the Wild West larceny, this will always be Whitaker's finest hour as a professional. He will never again duplicate that night.
For Sweetpea, there can't be another first encounter with Chavez. Nor will any other Whitaker fight receive such a buildup. Never again will Sweetpea climb into a ring with so much riding on a bout. Or with as much to prove.
If a fall welterweight title defense against Buddy McGirt comes off as anticipated, Whitaker will be pitted against a man he has already beaten.
Whitaker vs. McGirt is expected to pass for an important fight. The boxing cognoscenti think a lot of McGirt. I've seen him fight twice. From what I can tell, he is crafty and granite-jawed, with a style that would bore his own managers.
Perhaps, as challengers go, McGirt is as exciting as it gets these days. Boxing isn't exactly bursting at the seams with attractions.
Sweetpea apparently showed an initial reluctance to taking on McGirt again. It's easy to see why. Beating McGirt a second time couldnt' possibly match the thrill of bringing down the legendary Chavez.
Still, it's about time his handlers gave Whitaker a good reason to get back into the ring. If boredom is a concern, Sweetpea might try focusing on all the money still to be won.
Nothing wrong about that. by CNB