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Pernell Whitaker Boxing Autograph
A 16x20 Colour Action Photograph against
Tito Trinidad. Signed in Silver Sharpie by boxing legend
Pernell Whitaker.
Pernell Whitaker
£55.00
Whitaker was a defensive wizard with modest punching power.
His mastery of the subtle nuances of the sport made him
far less famous among general sports fans than his accomplishments
merited. In his prime years, Whitaker was remarkably consistent
in seeking out the toughest opponents and outclassing them
with his exasperating head movement and crisp counter-punching.
While Whitaker was a genius at presenting a scarce target,
he did so not by retreating, but by slipping and countering
from close range.
In just his eleventh and twelth pro bouts, Whitaker beat
solid journeymen Alfredo Layne in December, 1986, and Roger
Mayweather in March, 1987. On March 12, 1988 he challenged
Jose Luis Ramirez for the WBC Lightweight Championship in
Levallois, France . He suffered his first pro defeat when
the judges rendered a bizarre split decision in Ramirez's
favor. Two of the three judges were apparently watching
a different fight than the rest of the world, to whom it
appeared Whitaker had won easily.
Whitaker trudged on, decisioning tough Greg Haugen for
the IBF lightweight title on February 18, 1989. He added
the 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 1990's. In 1990,
he defended his lightweight title against good journeyman
Freddie Pendelton and featherweight champion Azumah Nelson
of Ghana. His highlight of 1991 was beating Jorge Paez.
In 1992, he began his assent up in weight, winning the IBF
junior welterweight title from Raphael Pineda on July 18.
Boxing's best couldn't touch "Sweat Pea," but
many experts expected that to change when he fought Mexican
legend Julio Cesar Chavez in a welterweight superfight on
September 10, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas. In a career-defining
performance, Whitaker made the undefeated brawler look ordinary,
winning nearly every round in the eyes' of the spectators.
But as in his first fight with Ramirez, Whitaker was robbed
by the judges, and had to settle for a draw.
Whitaker continued to dominate for the next few years,
beating James McGirt for the WBC welterweight belt on October
1, 1994, the same title he was denied against Chavez. For
good measure, in his next fight on March 4, 1995, Whitaker
added Julio Cesar Vasquez 's WBA junior middleweight title
to his collection. He moved back down to welterweight to
regain the vacant WBC belt from Scotland's Gary Jacobs on
August 26, 1995.
Despite his success, Whitaker's skills were in gradual
decline, evidenced by lackluster defenses against Wilfredo
Rivera and Diosbelys Hurtado . He met a bigger, younger
Oscar de la Hoya on April 12, 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Whitaker succeeded in making De la Hoya look bad through
his crafty defense, but he was unable to mount a sufficient
offense to sway the judges, and De la Hoya won a wide unanimous
decision in a dull, ugly fight.
Following this loss, Whitaker began an unfortunate decline,
personally and professionally. His win over Andrei Pestriaev
was declared a No-Contest after a drug test revealed that
he had used cocaine.
In 1999, Whitaker suffered his first sound defeat against
the much bigger, much fresher Félix Trinidad, gamely
taking the Puerto Rican knockout specialist the distance.
His last fight came on April 27, 2001 against mediocre Carlos
Bojorquez . Whitaker broke his clavicle in round four and
was forced to retire, finishing with an official pro record
of 40-4-1 (17 knockouts). Whitaker has since been in and
out of prison for cocaine possession and is rumored to have
squandered the millions of dollars he earned in fight purses.
While Pernell "Sweat Pea" Whitaker's future seems
uncertain, his record in the ring speaks for itself.
