Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Vásquez

Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio César Vásquez, billed as Showdown of Champions, was a professional boxing match contested on March 4, 1995 for the WBA super welterweight title.

Showdown of Champions

Date	March 4, 1995
Venue	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBA super welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Julio César Vásquez Pernell Whitaker Nickname "El Zurdo" "Sweet Pea" Hometown Santa Fe, Argentina Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. Purse $500,000 $1,500,000 Pre-fight record 53–1 (35 KO) 34–1–1 (15 KO) Age 28 years, 7 months 31 years, 2 months Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 5+1⁄2 in (166 cm) Weight 153+3⁄4 lb (70 kg) 153+3⁄4 lb (70 kg) Style Southpaw Southpaw Recognition WBA Super Welterweight Champion WBC Welterweight Champion The Ring No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter 3-division world champion
Result
Whitaker wins via 12-round unanimous decision (118-110, 118-107, 116-110)

Background

In February 1995, reigning WBC welterweight champion, American Pernell Whitaker, officially announced that he would be moving up in weight to challenge Argentine Julio César Vásquez for the latter's WBA super welterweight title. Whitaker was seeking to become the fourth man in boxing history to win a world title in four different divisions joining only Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Durán. Vásquez had reigned as super welterweight champion for over two years and had made 10 successful title defenses , but was virtually unknown to American audiences and had never been on as big a stage as he would be for his fight with Whitaker, something Whitaker claimed would be a detriment for him. Whitaker's time in the super welterweight division was expected to last only this fight, as he announced his intentions to go back down to welterweight should he win. Prior to the bout, Whitaker's long-time trainer George Benton had departed following a dispute with Lou Duva, whom both managed and co-trained Whitaker under his company Main Events. Benton's split from Main Event was acrimonious, claiming that Duva "didn't know boxing" and Whitaker was "arrogant and stubborn." To fill the void left by Benton, Ronnie Shields took over as Whitaker's head trainer.

The fight

Whitaker would have little trouble with Vásquez, winning by an easy unanimous decision. However, for the second consecutive fight, Whitaker was knocked down by his opponent. Vásquez would score the knockdown after Whitaker showboated by dropping his hands and was caught off balance with a left hand from Vásquez, though he would recover. As the fight went on, a frustrated Vásquez was warned numerous times for holding and hitting and was deducted one point in each of the ninth and 11th rounds. When fight ended and went to the scorecards, Whitaker won clearly on all three with scores of 118–107, 118–110 and 116–110.

Aftermath

Shortly following his victory, Whitaker would vacate the super welterweight title and announced that he would return to the welterweight division to make a mandatory defence of his WBC welterweight title against top ranked contender Gary Jacobs.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Super Welterweight	154 lb	Pernell Whitaker	def.	Julio César Vásquez (c)	UD	12/12	Note 1
Welterweight	147 lb	Ike Quartey	def.	Jung-Oh Park	TKO	4/12	Note 2
Welterweight	147 lb	Gary Jacobs	def.	José Miguel Fernández	UD	10/10
Heavyweight	200+ lb	David Tua	def.	Bruce Bellocchi	TKO	1/10
Lightweight	135 lb	Julien Lorcy	def.	Tommy Barnes	TKO	1/8
Super Welterweight	154 lb	Aníbal Santiago Acevedo	def.	Vidal Rodriguez	KO	5/8
Heavyweight	200+ lb	David Izon	def.	Ali Allen	KO	2/6

^Note 1 For WBA Super Welterweight title
^Note 2 For WBA Welterweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	HBO