Pernell Whitaker, Champion in Four Boxing Classes, Dies at 55
Simon Bruty/Allsport, via Getty Images
Pernell Whitaker, a left-handed defensive master in the boxing ring who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and became a champion in four weight classes as a professional, was killed on Sunday when he was struck by a car in Virginia Beach. He was 55.
The Virginia Beach Police Department confirmed the death, saying he was crossing a street at night when he was hit. The driver of the car remained at the scene, and the police said they were investigating the incident.
Whitaker, known as Sweet Pea or Pete, was an elusive fighter who deftly avoided being hit, or hurt, by his opponents.
When he returned to the ring in early 1999, he fractured his jaw in a decisive loss to Felix Trinidad for the I.B.F. welterweight title. He retired after being stopped, his shoulder injured, in the fourth round of a fight against Carlos Bojorquez in 2001.
In recent years, with the millions he had earned largely gone, Whitaker trained fighters, including Zab Judah, who won the I.B.F. world super lightweight title under Whitaker’s tutelage. He earned money at autograph shows as well.
He drew some news media attention in 2014 when he got into a dispute with his mother, leading him to evict her from the house he had bought her in Norfolk because she was not paying for its upkeep.
His survivors include his sons, Devon, Dominique and Dantavious, and his daughter, Tiara. His son Pernell Jr. died in 2015. His marriage ended in divorce
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