BOXING : Whitaker Defeats McGirt, Wins WBC Welterweight Title

Pernell Whitaker won his third world championship with a unanimous decision over Buddy McGirt, who lost his WBC welterweight title Saturday night because he couldn’t use his most powerful punch--the left hook.

“My arm went. What can I say?” McGirt said.

After the fight, McGirt went to a hospital to have his left arm checked.

Promoter Don King said before the fight that win or lose, he would give Whitaker a shot against Julio Cesar Chavez, probably in the fall, and probably in San Antonio.

Chavez, who holds the WBA and WBC junior-welterweight championships, will fight Whitaker for his new welterweight title. Whitaker also holds the IBF junior-welterweight title.

Whitaker threw many combinations and, fighting out of a left-handed stance, did most of his damage early.

“Easy. That’s what I tried to do,” Whitaker said. “Make it easy.”

McGirt, who has had tendinitis in his left shoulder for four years, finished with a flurry in the 11th and 12th rounds, but was unable to overcome Whitaker’s lead.

Whitaker was so sure of his victory that he began to clown during the final round and raised his arms in victory with five seconds to go. That cost him a punch in the stomach, but it was too little, too late for McGirt.

“I told him to go out in the 12th round and not take any chances,” Whitaker’s cornerman, Lou Duva, said. “But he wanted to have fun.”

Judge Chuck Giampa scored the fight 115-113, judge Rudy Ortega had it 115-114 and Dalby Shirley had it 117-111, all for Whitaker.

Whitaker won the lightweight title and unified it in 1990, making him the first man to rule that division undisputed since Roberto Duran.

Last year, he relinquished that title and won the junior-welterweight championship with a 12-round victory over Rafael Pineda. He has won 17 in a row and has a record of 32-1 with 15 knockouts. McGirt is 59-3-1.