Pernell Whitaker

CTL-E-7098 · Person · other · 1964–2019

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07970 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-7098.

Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitaker, born January 2, 1964, in Norfolk, Virginia, built one of the great amateur records in American boxing — the International Boxing Hall of Fame gives it as 201-14 with 91 knockouts — winning the 1982 Pan American Games title, the 1983 world championship and the lightweight gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before turning professional in 1984. A defensive marvel as an elusive southpaw, he lost his first title bid in 1988 on what the Hall itself calls a controversial decision to José Luis Ramírez, then won the IBF lightweight title from Greg Haugen on February 18, 1989, took the WBC belt in a Ramírez rematch, and unified the lightweight championship with a first-round knockout of Juan Nazario on August 11, 1990. He went on to win world titles in three further divisions — IBF light welterweight (1992), WBC welterweight (1993-1997) and WBA light middleweight (1995) — and was named Fighter of the Year for 1989. On September 10, 1993, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, his welterweight defense against Julio César Chávez was scored a majority draw; that official result stands, and its dispute is carried in this record's notes. Whitaker retired in 2001 with, as the Hall states his totals, a record of 40-4-1 with one no-contest and 17 knockouts, and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007. He died on July 14, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after being struck by a vehicle while crossing the street; the driver remained at the scene.

The record

• Also known as: Pernell 'Sweet Pea' Whitaker, Sweet Pea

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0480. Contested disposition — Whitaker vs. Chávez, September 10, 1993, Alamodome, San Antonio: the OFFICIAL result is a majority draw (Jack Woodruff 115-113 for Whitaker; Mickey Vann and Franz Marti 115-115) and it stands in the record books and in this record. The dispute, attributed and never blended into a win: ringside press overwhelmingly scored the fight for Whitaker — The Sweet Science records almost everyone in the press section scoring eight to ten rounds for him — Sports Illustrated put 'Robbed!' on its cover, and the Associated Press obituary calls it one of the worst decisions in boxing; Chávez's unbeaten record survived the night intact, which is the whole of the other side the sources support. The same attributed treatment applies to his 1988 Ramírez loss, which the Hall itself calls controversial. Identity/variance: ESPN's obituary misdates the Chávez fight to March 1993; the September 10, 1993 date is the established one (Associated Press; The Sweet Science) and is flagged here rather than silently harmonized. This record is Pernell Whitaker Sr. of Norfolk, 'Sweet Pea'; no other Whitaker's facts are carried. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Whitaker's is a mastery record — the finest defensive fighter of his generation, whose two most famous nights (Chávez 1993, Ramírez 1988) are remembered precisely because the official paper and the witnessed fight disagree. Photo: HELD — no photograph depicting Pernell Whitaker is held on Wikimedia Commons (searches returned only the sweet pea flower, a drawing and unrelated files); no stock or fair-use substitute used.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. "Pernell (Sweet Pea) Whitaker." IBHOF.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• Rafael, Dan. "Hall of Fame Boxer Whitaker Hit by Car, Dies." ESPN.com, July 15, 2019. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• Associated Press. "Boxing Champ Pernell Whitaker Dies; Hit by Car in Virginia." July 15, 2019 (obituary as published by The Times, via Beyond the Dash). Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

More person records

• Mary Church Terrell
• Mary Delores Espinosa-Matos
• Mary Eliza Mahoney
• Mary J. Blige
• Mary Jackson
• Mary Jane Jackson

Browse the full directory: all entity records

Record CTL-E-7098 · Combined Graph record U-07970 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

Cite this record

Citation guidance for teachers, journalists, and funders: How to Cite Us.

From the Archive

The archive in pictures

The people, places, and institutions this work documents. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.