Pernell Whitaker

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pernell Whitaker (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

Whitaker 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.[1] He holds the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history at 6 title defenses. Whitaker was seen as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time.[2]

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. He retired in 2001.

Whitaker was killed after being hit by a car in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July 14, 2019 at the age of 55.[3]

References[change | change source]

  1. "The Lineal Boxing World Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  2. "Floyd Mayweather Jr. and 25 Best Defensive Boxers in History". Bleacher Report.
  3. "Pernell Whitaker Dead At 55, Boxing Legend Hit By Car". TMZ. Retrieved 2019-07-15.

Other websites[change | change source]