‘Sweet Pea’ Tries To Avoid Being Left In The Dark

They know him as “Sweet Pea,” except at this fragile point of a heretofore distinguished career, they really should be calling him something else.

“Bittersweet Pea” might be more appropriate.

Here is Pernell Whitaker, virtually unknown by the public despite being one of the great fighters of his generation, finally ready to engage in an event that has captured the entire nation’s attention. He takes on boxing’s newest golden child, Oscar De La Hoya, tonight in a WBC welterweight title bout that could be the most eagerly awaited non-heavyweight matchup since Leonard-Hagler in 1987.

It is the opportunity Whitaker has been waiting for his entire professional life.

Only now, when all of America will be watching, when the fight that will forever define him is about to take place, Pernell wakes up to find himself 33 years old, not 27. He is coming off a sloppy, disappointing performance, not one of those textbook boxing exhibitions of his. He is a 3-1/2-to-1 underdog, not the overwhelming favorite he has been so often in the past.

That’s why most of the intrigue tonight centers on “Sweet Pea,” who has long since proven himself against world-class competition, not De La Hoya, who remains a relative baby, entering this rarefied level for the first time at age 24.

Undeniably, Oscar is still on his way up. The question is, how far is Whitaker on the way down?

How much has his speed diminished? How far are his reflexes shot? Was his disturbing knockeddown, dragged-around show before coming back to KO Diobelys Hurtado in 11 rounds in January just a matter of not being motivated against a no-name opponent? Or was it a sign that Pernell’s penchant for partying has finally caught up to him?

Ask most boxing people, and they will tell you age and his lack of discipline outside the ring have crept up and had an effect on “Sweet Pea.” Ask Whitaker, of course, and you get an entirely different view.

“I’ve been trying to find my style and my skills for five or six years,” he said. “I’ve been trying to find the preparation for being like this. I even look young. I look like a 21-year-old. I feel like an 18-year-old.

“So all of that comes in hand, the speed, the quickness, the agility to get away, the ability to make the man miss, all those things will come back. There is no more looking back. This is now.”

Whitaker was only getting warmed up. Someone asked him how he reacts when a fight starts.

“I turn into the devil,” he said. “I turn into Satan. I am going to have some fun. … I may do my Siegfried and Roy move, disappear and come back.

“He (De La Hoya) is nothing right now. … When they go into the dressing room and tell him to come out, they’re not going to be looking at all those guys behind him. They can’t come in that ring to help him. He belongs to me.”

De La Hoya swears he is not affected by Whitaker’s rhetoric.

“He tries to motivate himself by tearing me down,” said De La Hoya. “It doesn’t bother me one bit.”

It won’t be a joke tonight.

That’s when some of these questions, among the more fascinating pre-fight questions posed in years, finally will be answered:

Will Whitaker, one of the sport’s true technicians, be too “cute” for De La Hoya? Will he show him things De La Hoya never has seen before? Will he turn this into a gimmick fight?

An unorthodox southpaw who likes to throw his punches from a variety of angles, “Sweet Pea” will use all the wiles he has accumulated through his eventful career in this one. And if he can confuse and frustrate De La Hoya early, it will work to his advantage late.

Is De La Hoya too big and too strong? He is 5-foot-11, Whitaker is 5-6. De La Hoya is definitely the more powerful puncher, with 20 knockouts in 23 fights, compared with Whitaker’s 17 in 42.

But how much will moving up from 140 pounds to 147 take away from De La Hoya’s power? Lots of fighters have been big knockout artists in one class, only to move up and discover they are just average punchers against heavier opponents.

Can De La Hoya possibly be as good as he has appeared in some of his fights?

There have been times - against Rafael Ruelas in May of 1995, just to name one - when this former Olympics champion from East Los Angeles has looked like the best young boxer-puncher to come along since another Sugar Ray named Robinson.

That night in May, knocking down Ruelas twice and stopping him in two eye-popping rounds, Oscar appeared so pure and so gifted that it almost took your breath away.

He was Ken Griffey Jr. at the plate. Grant Hill in the open court. Tiger Woods on the 18th tee.

It is not beyond the realm of possibility that this is the next great wunderkind of sports.

If he is, it might not matter which Whitaker we see tonight.

But if he isn’t, the outcome could well rest with the smaller, more experienced six-time champion, who, after so many years, will be out to prove what he hopes, at last, will become obvious tonight:

That among his myriad other talents, he is more than capable of handling the bitter with the sweet.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TV Fight shown only on payper-view.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Steve Bisheff Orange County Register