De La Hoya's career spans decades and includes world titles in six weight divisions and lineal championships in three. He beat some of the best, including Ike Quartey, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, and Hector Camacho. His first loss came in 1999 against Felix Trinidad.
During the interview, De La Hoya vividly described Whitaker's elusiveness:
"Pernell was a slippery motherf—-r, at one time, and I was a big welterweight right and so Pernell, at one point I was like [throwing heavy shots] and he was looking at me like [dodging punches] and I missed every punch, he was a son of a b—h. he was good."
Whitaker, known as 'Sweet Pea', was a four-weight world champion. He unified the lightweight division in 1990 by beating Juan Nazario. In 1992, he moved up and grabbed the IBF light-welterweight title from Rafael Pineda. The following year, he captured the WBC welterweight title from Buddy McGirt.
De La Hoya took that WBC welterweight title from Whitaker in 1997. After that loss, Whitaker's career took a downturn. He lost two of his last three fights to Carlos Bojorquez and Felix Trinidad before hanging up his gloves. Sadly, Whitaker passed away in 2019 at the age of 55.
While De La Hoya faced other greats like Manny Pacquiao, he considers Whitaker tougher than even Floyd Mayweather. This statement carries weight, given De La Hoya's status as one of the best fighters of the last two decades.
You can watch the full interview where De La Hoya talks about Whitaker on the Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson YouTube channel.