NEW YORK -- Pernell Whitaker, using his speed and capitalizing on his opponents' sore left arm, captured a unanimous 12-round decision Saturday night to take the World Boxing Council welterweight title from Buddy McGirt.
Whitaker, the reigning International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion, set himself up for a multi-million payday against WBC junior welterweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez. That fight, targeted for September, will settle the issue of the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
Whitaker, who won his third career title, dominated the middle rounds after he realized he was facing a one-handed opponent. McGirt, suffering from chronic tendinitis in his left shoulder, threw only a handful of left hooks and landed just one solidly. That was to the body.
The crowd of 10,814 at Madison Square Garden favored New Yorker McGirt, but Whitaker, of Norfalk, Va., did enough to impress the judges. Dalby Shirley of Nevada had it 117-111, Rudy Ortega of California had it 115-114 and Chuck Giampa of Nevada scored it 115-113. United Press International favored Whitaker 116-113.
'Easy,' Whitaker summed up. 'That's what I try to do, make them easy.'
McGirt's corner iced his left shoulder between rounds and he fought just like when he struggled to a victory over Genaro Leon Jan. 12.
'My arm went,' McGirt said. 'What can I say?'
McGirt hardly hooked, trying instead to beat Whitaker with his right hand. The strategy worked in the fourth and fifth rounds, when McGirt landed good shots to the head and body. But Whitaker, who was more active in the first three rounds, turned the fight back around in the sixth round with two-handed flurries and hard left leads.
The pattern of the fight changed in the seventh round, to Whitaker's advantage. In the first six rounds, McGirt backed up and Whitaker chased. But starting in the seventh, Whitaker retreated and let McGirt chase. Whitaker began catching McGirt walking into his left leads and escaped before the champion could retaliate.
Whitaker's corner told him to stay away in the final two rounds, and he did. McGirt came on in the 11th and 12th, landing some big right hands but never inflicting any serious damage.
A brief scuffle broke out after the final bell between McGirt's trainer, Al Certo, and Whitaker's trainer, Lou Duva. Referee Larry Hazzard shoved Duva back to his corner and restrained him. It was the toughest task of the night for Hazzard, head of the New Jersey Boxing Commission who refereed his first fight since 1985.
There were no knockdowns, and neither boxer was ever in trouble.
Whitaker, 146 1-4, earned $1.25 million and improved to 32-1. McGirt made $1 million and fell to 59-3-1.
What Whitaker didn't know was he already had a fight set with Chavez, win or lose. Whitaker's promoter, Dan Duva, and Chavez' promoter, Don King, worked out a deal earlier in the week calling for Whitaker to defend the WBC welterweight title against the Mexican Chavez if he won Saturday night. If Whitaker lost to McGirt, he would have fought Chavez in a 140-pound title unification bout. King is looking to stage the fight in San Antonio, Texas, in September.
McGirt was making the third defense of the title he won by decision over Simon Brown Nov. 29, 1991. He also held the IBF junior welterweight title for seven months in 1988, winning the vacant title against Frankie Warren and losing it to Meldrick Taylor. Warren, who defeated McGirt in 1986, and Taylor were stablemates of Whitaker.
Whitaker, a 1984 Olympic champion, was lightweight champion from 1989 until growing out of the division last year. He was undisputed lightweight champion when he gave up the crown and defeated Rafael Pineda for the IBF 140-pound title last July 18.
Whitaker won his first lightweight title from Greg Haugen in 1989 and won eight more bouts as 135-pound champion. His only loss was a disputed decision against Jose Luis Ramirez in France in 1988 in his first try at a lightweight title. Whitaker came back to win a decision over Ramirez in an IBF-WBC title unification bout Aug. 20, 1989 in Whitaker's hometown of Norfalk.
On the undercard, top-ranked bantamweight contender Junior Jones of New York knocked out Mexican Juan Pablo Salazar at 1:17 of the fourth round.
