It was billed as a battle for pound for pound supremacy.

On April 12, 1997, Oscar De La Hoya maintained his unbeaten record, picked up the WBC welterweight title and grabbed the top rung on The Ring’s mythical pound for pound list by defeating the legendary Pernell Whitaker at the Thomas & Mack Centre in Las Vegas. The official scores were 116-110, 116-110 and 115-111.

However, despite the wide points triumph in De La Hoya’s favor, the majority of ringsiders and a large portion of the TVKO pay-per-view audience felt that Whitaker’s slickness and ring craft had trumped the challenger’s youth and power.

In an underrated battle of tactics, Whitaker turned in his best performance in years. The southpaw champion’s right jab was an excellent weapon and his defensive radar had De La Hoya befuddled at certain points of the contest.

“The Golden Boy” did enjoy plenty of success. Whitaker nullified his opponent’s lethal left hook, but De La Hoya introduced a sharp right hand lead and also broke through with some terrific uppercuts.

As per WBC rules, Whitaker was deducted a point in Round 3 when De La Hoya was cut by a clash of heads. But that was cancelled out when the champion was given credit for an untidy knockdown in the ninth. Video replays would prove that both men’s feet were tangled up during an exchange.

De La Hoya closed well, but Whitaker was never troubled. It was a close fight – very close – and the margins of victory in the new champion’s favour left a very bad taste.

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WHITAKER-DE LA HOYA – POUND FOR POUND