Lance Whitaker (born May 29, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. As an amateur in the super heavyweight division, he won a bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games. Nicknamed "Mount", or more recently "Goofi", Whitaker was known for his size – 6 feet, 8 inches – and personability.
Lance Whitaker | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | May 29, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Mount Goofi | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reach | 84 in (213 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 43 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editA native of Granada Hills, Los Angeles, Whitaker attended San Fernando High School, where he played football and basketball.[1][2] In 1989, he was convinced to start boxing by local trainer Francisco Ortega, who spotted him while he was waiting in line at a Burger King restaurant.[3]
Amateur career
editWhitaker won the National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight title in 1993, followed by the United States (AAU) National Amateur Super Heavyweight title in 1994.[4]
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U.S. Olympic Festival, San Antonio, Texas, July-August 1993:
U.S. Pan Am Trials, Portland, Oregon, January 1995:
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United States National Championships, Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 1996:
U.S. Olympic Box-Offs, 1996:
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Professional career
editWhitaker turned pro in 1996 and quickly climbed the rankings with knockout wins over limited competition. A win over faded contender Alex Stewart landed him a fight against Lou Savarese in 1999. Savarese ended Whitaker's 18 fight unbeaten streak with a decision win. Whitaker then went on later that year to hand Monte Barrett his first loss and in 2000 knocked out undefeated Robert Davis. Whitaker then scored a devastating KO victory over contender Oleg Maskaev 2001, perhaps the biggest win of his career. At this point Whitaker was seen by many as having the potential to be a future heavyweight champion. Unfortunately for Whitaker, he lost his next fight to Jameel McCline by unanimous decision. He then drifted into journeyman obscurity, and was knocked out by Luan Krasniqi in 2005. In 2006 Whitaker lost to Sultan Ibragimov by knockout, effectively putting an end to his hope for future title belt opportunities. Whitaker continues to fight, but hasn't been highly ranked as a heavyweight in several years.
Nickname
editWhitaker is likely most known for his bizarre adoption of the "Goofi" nickname prior to his fight with McCline in 2001. Whitaker's popularity was skyrocketing in boxing circles, and his promoter, the infamous Rock Newman, concocted the stunt to generate publicity and sentiment towards Whitaker.
Professional boxing record
edit
References
edit- ^ Kowalick, Vince (July 10, 1996). "Going for Green, Not Gold". Los Angeles Times. p. 36. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Homeless boxer from L.A. hopes to strike gold". Daily Press. March 21, 1995. p. 11. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Oberjuerge, Paul (March 24, 1995). "Discovery Zone". Los Angeles Times. p. 76. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Leech, Paige A. (July 23, 1994). "Bad Intentions at Goodwill Games". Los Angeles Times. p. 60. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "BoxRec - Lance Whitaker".
External links
edit- Boxing record for Lance Whitaker from BoxRec (registration required)
- BoxingRecords