Pernell Whitaker (born January 2, 1964) is an American former professional boxer and current boxing trainer. He won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1982 amateur World Championships, followed by gold at the 1983 Pan American Games and 1984 Olympics. In his professional career, Whitaker won world titles in four different weight divisions. During his career he fought a multitude of world champions such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. For his achievements, Whitaker was named the 1989 Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine.

Whitaker is a former WBA light middleweight champion, WBC welterweight champion, IBF light welterweight champion, WBC/WBA/IBF and NABF lightweight champion, and was heralded as one of the top five lightweights of all time.

After retiring, Whitaker returned to the sport as a trainer. Among his trained boxers are Zab Judah, Dorin Spivey, Joel Julio and Calvin Brock. In 2002, The Ring ranked him tenth in their list of "The 100 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years". On December 7, 2006, Whitaker was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

Fighting style

Whitaker was a "southpaw" (left hand dominant) boxer, known for his outstanding defensive skills and for being a strong counterpuncher. He was not an over-powering hitter on offense but applied a steady attack while, at the same time, being extremely slippery and difficult to hit with a solid blow.

Amateur career

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 says that he has had up to 500 amateur fights. He lost to two-time Olympic Gold medalist Angel 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.

Professional career

Lightweight

In just his eleventh and twelfth pro bouts, Whitaker beat Alfredo Layne on December 20, 1986 and former WBA Super Featherweight title holder Roger Mayweather on March 28, 1987. Whitaker won both bouts before hometown crowds at the Norfold 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 Jose Luis Ramirez for the WBC Lightweight title in Levallois, France, He suffered his first pro defeat when the judges awarded a split decision to Ramirez. The decision was highly controversial, with most feeling that Whitaker had won the fight with something to spare. In his 1999 edition of the 'World Encyclpedia fo Boxing,' Harry Mullan stated that the decision in this bout was "generally considered to be a disgrace." To date, the decision is rated at or near the top of many boxing observer's "worst ever boxing decisions" lists.

Undisputed Champion

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 dropping him in the sixth round. He then added the vacant WBC belt 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 vacant The Ring and WBA titles, becoming the first Undisputed Lightweight Champion since Roberto Duran. His highlight of 1991 was a win over Jorge Paez and a fight against European Champion Poli Diaz that ended in another win.