Former Multiple Division World Champion Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker Dead at 55 – Boxing News Shocks Our Beloved Sport to Its Core!

[AdSense-A]

By Geoffrey Huchel

It is with deep sadness that Ringside Report announces the death of former boxing champion Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker. Whitaker was killed after being struck by a car in Virginia Beach Sunday night.

Whitaker was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001. After his retirement in 2001, he returned to the sport as a 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 lineal lightweight titles.

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 6 title defenses. Whitaker is regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all-time. Whitaker won a Gold Medal in the 1984 Olympics.

In 2006, Whitaker was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

[si-contact-form form=’2′]