Template:Short description Template:Infobox boxer

Pernell Whitaker Sr.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref> (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight; the undisputed lightweight title; and the lineal lightweight and welterweight titles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1989, Whitaker was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He currently holds the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history at six title defenses. Whitaker is generally regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As an amateur, Whitaker won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 1982 World Championships, followed by gold at the 1983 Pan American Games and 1984 Olympics. After his retirement in 2001, Whitaker returned to the sport as a trainer. In 2002, The Ring ranked him tenth in their list of "The 100 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years". In 2006, Whitaker was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

Amateur careerEdit

Whitaker had an extensive amateur boxing career, having started at the age of nine. He had 214 amateur fights, winning 201, 91 of them by knockouts, though he said that he had up to 500 amateur fights. He lost to two-time Olympic Gold medalist Ángel Herrera Vera at the final of the World Championships 1982 but beat him four other times, notably in the final of the Pan American Games 1983 in Caracas. He crowned his amateur career with an Olympic gold medal in 1984, beating Puerto Rican Luis Ortiz to obtain it.

Professional careerEdit

LightweightEdit

In just his eleventh and twelfth pro bouts, Whitaker defeated former world champion Alfredo Layne on December 20, 1986 and former WBA and lineal Super Featherweight and WBC Light Welterweight title holder Roger Mayweather on March 28, 1987. Whitaker won both bouts before hometown crowds at the Norfolk Scope, less than a mile from where he lived as a child in a Norfolk housing project. Whitaker would fight nine times in the Scope arena during his career.

On March 12, 1988, he challenged José Luis Ramírez for the WBC Lightweight title in Levallois, France. He suffered his first pro defeat when the judges awarded a split decision to Ramirez. This was a highly controversial decision, considered one of the worst ever by many analysts, as they felt that Whitaker easily won.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Undisputed lightweight championEdit

Whitaker trudged on, winning a decision over Greg Haugen for the IBF Lightweight title on February 18, 1989, becoming the first boxer to knock Haugen down by sending him to the mat in the sixth round. He then added the vacant WBC & The Ring belts by avenging his loss to Ramirez on August 20.

Now a champion, Whitaker proceeded to dominate boxing's middle divisions over the first half of the 1990s. In 1990, he defended his Lightweight title against future champion Freddie Pendleton and Super Featherweight Champion Azumah Nelson of Ghana. On August 11, 1990, he knocked out Juan Nazario in one round to win the WBA and vacant lineal lightweight titles,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> becoming the first Undisputed Lightweight Champion since Roberto Durán. His highlight of 1991 was a win over Jorge Páez and a fight against European Champion Poli Díaz that ended in another win.

IBF light welterweight championEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In 1992, he began his ascent in weight, winning the IBF light welterweight title from Colombian puncher Rafael Pineda on July 18.

WBC and lineal welterweight championEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On March 6, 1993, he decisioned Buddy McGirt to become the Lineal and WBC Welterweight Champion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Whitaker vs. ChávezEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Whitaker was gaining momentum and boxing experts and fans felt that he needed to win against the pound for pound best boxer in the world: Julio César Chávez. The two met in a welterweight superfight simply named "The Fight"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on September 10, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas. In the eyes of many of the spectators, Whitaker outboxed the Mexican legend. While one judge did score the fight in favor of Whitaker (115-113), the other 2 judges saw an even bout (115-115), resulting in a majority draw. Sports IllustratedTemplate:'s post-fight edition had "ROBBED!" across the cover and they believed that Whitaker had won no less than 9 of the 12 rounds in the fight.<ref>Beaten To The Draw</ref> The now-defunct Bert Sugar's Boxing Illustrated" magazine had a heading on the cover of its post-fight edition telling readers not to buy the issue if they really believed "The Fight" was a draw.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Whitaker continued on to dominate for the next few years, defending his welterweight title against Santos Cardona on April 9, 1994 and in a rematch against McGirt on October 1, 1994.

WBA super welterweight championEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In his next fight on March 4, 1995, Whitaker added Julio César Vásquez's WBA super welterweight title to his collection. Early on, Vasquez was the aggressor, and scored a flash knockdown on Whitaker in the 4th round; but Whitaker settled in & used his accuracy and defense to take over and outpoint Vasquez en route to a unanimous decision win. This was a history making fight for Whitaker, as he became only the fourth fighter in history - joining Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Roberto Durán - to have won a legitimate world title in four different weight classes. However, he chose to move back to welterweight.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Pernell Whitaker vs Julio Cesar Vasquez - HBO World Championship Boxing</ref>

Return to welterweightEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Whitaker successfully defended his WBC belt against Scotland's Gary Jacobs on August 26, 1995. In January, 1997, Whitaker put his title on the line against Cuban fighter Diosbelys Hurtado. Hurtado gave Whitaker all he could handle and then some. Hurtado had Whitaker down on all the judges scorecards going into the 11th round: Hurtado scored flash knockdowns against Whitaker in rounds 1 and 6, and Whitaker had a point deducted in the 9th round for hitting Hurtado behind the head. But midway in the 11th round, Whitaker landed a left hook that hurt Hurtado; and in a rare display of aggression and power, Whitaker unleashed a barrage of left-handed power shots, pummeling Hurtado into the ropes, knocking Hurtado out and almost completely out of the ring before referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped the fight at the 1:52 mark, giving Whitaker the come-from-behind TKO win.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> The win set up a showdown with undefeated 1992 Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya.

Whitaker vs. De La HoyaEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} He met Oscar De La Hoya on April 12, 1997, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Whitaker, defending his WBC championship and the mythical status as the best boxer in the world, pound for pound, succeeded in making De La Hoya look bad through his crafty defense, but he was unable to mount a sufficient offense to convince the judges. Whitaker was awarded an official knockdown in the 9th round and, according to CompuBox stats, outlanded De La Hoya in overall punches and connect percentage, using the jab as his primary weapon; but De La Hoya threw and landed almost twice as many power punches and had a slightly higher power punch connect percentage than Whitaker and showed more aggression in the fight, which may have factored into De La Hoya winning by a disputed unanimous decision. At the end of the fight, the judges' scores were 115-111, 116-110, 116-110. The fight was much closer than what the scorecards showed, and many observers felt that Whitaker won the fight. It was another controversial decision against Whitaker, but it wasn't seen as a blatant robbery like the Ramirez or Chavez decisions.<ref>Pernell Whitaker vs. Oscar De La Hoya</ref>

For his part, De La Hoya wasn't too pleased with his own performance against Whitaker and had hinted at a possible rematch to prove that he could do better against him. But Bob Arum, De La Hoya's promoter at that time, decided against it. <ref>OSCAR TIME IT WASN'T AN AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE, BUT OSCAR DE LA HOYA TOOK PERNELL WHITAKER'S WELTERWEIGHT TITLE</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Whitaker's next bout was against Russian-born fighter Andrey Pestryayev in a world title elimination fight, where the winner would earn an automatic #1 contender spot for the WBA Welterweight crown, held at the time by Ike Quartey. Whitaker originally won the fight, but the win was nullified & changed to a No Decision after he failed a post-fight drug test.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Whitaker was suspended for six months, but the commission lifted the suspension after he agreed to random testing and his title bout with Quartey was to proceed as scheduled, however, the bout was cancelled after Whitaker tested positive for a second time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Whitaker vs. TrinidadEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On February 20, 1999, Whitaker suffered his first convincing defeat against the much bigger, much fresher Félix Trinidad, gamely taking the Puerto Rican the distance in an attempt to win Trinidad's IBF welterweight title.<ref name="Whitaker">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The fight began with both boxers displaying aggressive styles, which included excessive pushing. In the following rounds, both boxers used their jabs most of the time, with Trinidad gaining an advantage when Whitaker attempted to attack inside, eventually scoring a knockdown in round two.<ref name="Whitaker"/> In the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds the fighters exchanged combinations.<ref name="Whitaker"/> Later in the fight, both boxers fell to the canvas in what were ruled as "accidental slips."<ref name="Whitaker"/> In the seventh round, Whitaker displayed more offense, trading power punches with Trinidad, but the champion retained control of the fight's tempo during the eight, ninth and tenth rounds.<ref name="Whitaker"/> In the last round, Whitaker, with a badly swollen right eye, displayed a purely defensive stance, avoiding his opponent throughout the round while Trinidad continued on the offensive until the fight concluded. The judges gave the champion scores of 117–111, 118–109 and 118–109.<ref name="Whitaker"/>

His last fight came on April 27, 2001, against journeyman Carlos Bojorquez. Whitaker, the former lightweight, entered the ring at 155 pounds. He broke his clavicle in round four and was forced to retire; at the time of the stoppage Whitaker was trailing in all the judges' scorecards by 28-29. Following this fight, Whitaker officially announced his retirement. He finished his professional career with an official record of 40-4-1 (17 knockouts).

In 2002, The Ring ranked Whitaker as the 10th Greatest Fighter of the Last 80 Years.

On December 7, 2006, Whitaker was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame along with contemporaries Roberto Durán and Ricardo López. They were all elected in their first year of eligibility.

Boxing styleEdit

A southpaw, Whitaker was known for his outstanding defensive skills and for being a strong counterpuncher. He was not a particularly hard puncher or knockout artist, but applied a consistent offense while being extremely elusive and difficult for his opponents to hit with a solid punch. Whitaker used a variety of different guards, including a hands down guard relying on only head movement to evade punches. Yet he is most known for his use of the Philly Shell taught to him by his trainer George Benton.<ref name="shoulder">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="understanding">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="philly">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career as a trainerEdit

In December 2005 Whitaker became a boxing trainer in his home state of Virginia. While the decline of speed and agility pushed him into retirement, his knowledge of the ring and competitive boxing's components led him to seek out up-and-coming boxers to train to fight in the manner in which he did.

His first fighter, Dorin Spivey fought matches in 2006. He later trained young prospect Joel Julio.

Whitaker was also the trainer for heavyweight Calvin Brock who, as recently as November 2006, fought for the IBF and IBO titles against Wladimir Klitschko, wherein Brock was knocked out in the 7th round.

Whitaker also trained former IBF world champion Paul Spadafora between 2009 and 2010 for 3 fights in which Spadafora won all three.

In 2010, Whitaker was inducted into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, honoring those who have contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia.

Whitaker also became the head trainer of former undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who defeated Kaizer Mabuza in March 2011 to win the vacant IBF light welterweight title.

Personal lifeEdit

Pernell Whitaker was born in Norfolk, Virginia on January 2, 1964, the son of Raymond Whitaker Sr. and his wife, Novella.<ref name="auto"/> He had two brothers and four sisters.Template:Citation needed

Pernell married Rovanda Anthony on December 21, 1985 in the boxing ring at the Virginia Beach Pavilion Convention Center.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple later divorced. They had four children together. Pernell also had a daughter from a prior relationship.Template:Citation needed

Pernell graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1982 and later received an honorary bachelor's degree from Norfolk State University. His humble beginnings started in Youngs Park Housing Community where he was inspired to start his boxing career. Outside of the ring, Sweet Pea served his community and the youth in everything that he did. He sponsored many events at Norfolk State University and spent countless hours training youth at boxing camps and gyms. He also remained active in Norfolk and spoke at city council meetings on behalf of the residents in support of community improvements.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Pernell had personal struggles and in June 2002 was convicted of cocaine possession after a judge found he violated the terms of a previous sentence by overdosing on cocaine in March.<ref name="Wallechinsky">Template:Cite book</ref> In February 2014, Pernell made national headlines after he evicted his mother, Novella Whitaker, out of the house he purchased for her shortly after he turned pro. Apparently, back taxes were owed on the house and Pernell said that neither his mother nor his siblings, who also stayed in the house, were doing anything to help keep the house afloat financially. Pernell's lawyers said that he is not making the same kind of money as a trainer that he was as a boxer, and needed to sell off the home to satisfy the tax debt owed in order to prevent the property from being seized and put into foreclosure. Outside of the Virginia courtroom where the eviction proceedings took place, he called the ruling in his favor "a beautiful moment."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

DeathEdit

At about 10 p.m. on July 14, 2019, Whitaker was crossing the street in Virginia Beach, at the intersection of Northampton Boulevard and Baker Road, when he was struck and killed by a vehicle.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was 55. An autopsy stated that the cause of Whitaker's death was "multiple blunt force trauma."

Professional boxing recordEdit

Template:BoxingRecordSummary

Template:Abbr Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
46 Template:No2Loss Template:Nowrap Carlos Bojorquez TKO 4 (10), Template:Small Apr 27, 2001 Template:Small Template:Small
45 Template:No2Loss 40–3–1 Template:Small Félix Trinidad UD 12 Feb 20, 1999 Template:Small Template:Small
44 Template:Abbr 40–2–1 Template:Small Andrey Pestryayev UD 12 Oct 17, 1997 Template:Small Template:Small
43 Template:No2Loss 40–2–1 Oscar De La Hoya UD 12 Apr 12, 1997 Template:Small Template:Small
42 Template:Yes2Win 40–1–1 Diosbelys Hurtado TKO 11 (12), Template:Small Jan 24, 1997 Template:Small Template:Small
41 Template:Yes2Win 39–1–1 Wilfredo Rivera UD 12 Sep 20, 1996 Template:Small Template:Small
40 Template:Yes2Win 38–1–1 Wilfredo Rivera SD 12 Apr 12, 1996 Template:Small Template:Small
39 Template:Yes2Win 37–1–1 Jake Rodríguez KO 6 (12), Template:Small Nov 18, 1995 Template:Small Template:Small
38 Template:Yes2Win 36–1–1 Gary Jacobs UD 12 Aug 26, 1995 Template:Small Template:Small
37 Template:Yes2Win 35–1–1 Julio César Vásquez UD 12 Mar 4, 1995 Template:Small Template:Small
36 Template:Yes2Win 34–1–1 James McGirt UD 12 Oct 1, 1994 Template:Small Template:Small
35 Template:Yes2Win 33–1–1 Santos Cardona UD 12 Apr 9, 1994 Template:Small Template:Small
34 Template:DrawDraw 32–1–1 Julio César Chávez Template:Abbr 12 Sep 10, 1993 Template:Small Template:Small
33 Template:Yes2Win 32–1 James McGirt UD 12 Mar 6, 1993 Template:Small Template:Small
32 Template:Yes2Win 31–1 Ben Baez KO 1 (10), Template:Small Dec 1, 1992 Template:Small
31 Template:Yes2Win 30–1 Rafael Pineda UD 12 Jul 18, 1992 Template:Small Template:Small
30 Template:Yes2Win 29–1 Jerry Smith KO 1 (10) May 22, 1992 Template:Small
29 Template:Yes2Win 28–1 Harold Brazier UD 10 Jan 18, 1992 Template:Small
28 Template:Yes2Win 27–1 Jorge Páez UD 12 Oct 5, 1991 Template:Small Template:Small
27 Template:Yes2Win 26–1 Poli Díaz UD 12 Jul 27, 1991 Template:Small Template:Small
26 Template:Yes2Win 25–1 Anthony Jones UD 12 Feb 23, 1991 Template:Small Template:Small
25 Template:Yes2Win 24–1 Benjie Marquez UD 10 Nov 22, 1990 Template:Small
24 Template:Yes2Win 23–1 Juan Nazario KO 1 (12), Template:Small Aug 11, 1990 Template:Small Template:Small
23 Template:Yes2Win 22–1 Azumah Nelson UD 12 May 19, 1990 Template:Small Template:Small
22 Template:Yes2Win 21–1 Freddie Pendleton UD 12 Feb 3, 1990 Template:Small Template:Small
21 Template:Yes2Win 20–1 Martin Galvan TKO 3 (?) Dec 11, 1989 Template:Small
20 Template:Yes2Win 19–1 José Luis Ramírez UD 12 Aug 20, 1989 Template:Small Template:Small
19 Template:Yes2Win 18–1 Louie Lomeli TKO 3 (12), Template:Small Apr 30, 1989 Template:Small Template:Small
18 Template:Yes2Win 17–1 Greg Haugen UD 12 Feb 18, 1989 Template:Small Template:Small
17 Template:Yes2Win 16–1 Antonio Carter TKO 4 (10), Template:Small Nov 2, 1988 Template:Small
16 Template:No2Loss 15–1 Jose Luis Ramírez Template:Abbr 12 Mar 12, 1988 Template:Small Template:Small
15 Template:Yes2Win 15–0 Davey Montana TKO 4 (10), Template:Small Dec 19, 1987 Template:Small
14 Template:Yes2Win 14–0 Miguel Santana TKO 6 (12), Template:Small Jul 25, 1987 Template:Small Template:Small
13 Template:Yes2Win 13–0 Jim Flores TKO 1 (10) Jun 28, 1987 Template:Small
12 Template:Yes2Win 12–0 Roger Mayweather UD 12 Mar 28, 1987 Template:Small Template:Small
11 Template:Yes2Win 11–0 Alfredo Layne UD 10 Dec 20, 1986 Template:Small
10 Template:Yes2Win 10–0 Rafael Gandarilla UD 10 Oct 9, 1986 Template:Small
9 Template:Yes2Win 9–0 Rafael Williams UD 10 Aug 16, 1986 Template:Small
8 Template:Yes2Win 8–0 John Montes UD 10 Mar 9, 1986 Template:Small
7 Template:Yes2Win 7–0 Jesus De la Cruz TKO 1 (8), Template:Small Nov 12, 1985 Template:Small
6 Template:Yes2Win 6–0 Teddy Hatfield Template:Abbr 3 (8), Template:Small Aug 29, 1985 Template:Small
5 Template:Yes2Win 5–0 John Senegal TKO 2 (8), Template:Small Jul 20, 1985 Template:Small
4 Template:Yes2Win 4–0 Nick Parker Template:Abbr 6 Apr 20, 1985 Template:Small
3 Template:Yes2Win 3–0 Mike Golden TKO 4 (6), Template:Small Mar 13, 1985 Template:Small
2 Template:Yes2Win 2–0 Danny Avery TKO 4 (6) Jan 20, 1985 Template:Small
1 Template:Yes2Win 1–0 Farrain Comeaux Template:Abbr 2 (6), Template:Small Nov 15, 1984 Template:Small

Titles in boxingEdit

Major world titlesEdit

The Ring magazine titlesEdit

Regional/International titlesEdit

Undisputed titlesEdit

Pay-per-view boutsEdit

Date Fight Billing Buys Network
{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }} Whitaker vs. De La Hoya Pound for Pound 720,000<ref name="About.com History">Pay-Per-View History Template:Webarchive at about.com</ref> HBO

See alsoEdit

Notes and referencesEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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