Pernell Whitaker
"Sweet Pea"
Top 100 · #67 · 56.4 points- Born
- 1964
- Died
- 2019
- Nationality
- USA
- Career
- 1984–2001
Arguably the greatest defensive boxer in history.
Titles & Honours
- Olympic Gold (1984)
- World champion in four divisions
Career Timeline
1984–2001- Milestone
Olympic Gold (1984)
Year from profile honours.
- Milestone
First recorded professional bout
vs Farrain Comeaux · W TKO
- Signature fight
vs Azumah Nelson
W PTS12 Azumah Nelson (1990) · Caesars Palace , Paradise, Nevada , U.S.
- Milestone
25th recorded win
vs Anthony Jones · UD. Newspaper decisions excluded.
- Signature fight
vs Julio César Chávez
D12 Julio César Chávez (1993) · Alamodome , San Antonio , Texas, U.S.
- Milestone
Latest recorded bout
vs Carlos Bojorquez · L TKO. Not necessarily the retirement date.
Title wins · dates not yet documented
Derived from the current archive and profile honours. Title-reign years are not exact bout dates; title claims are not independently verified. Signature fights use existing profile selections, or clearly labelled wins over other archived fighters when no selections exist. Year-only dates retain their original precision.
Photo Archive
No freely licensed photographs of Pernell Whitaker are available in this archive.
Fight-by-Fight Record
| Date | Result | Opponent | Method | Round | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-11-15 | W | Farrain Comeaux | TKO | 2 | Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York , U.S. |
| 1985-01-20 | W | Danny Avery | TKO | 4 | Broadway by the Bay Theater , Atlantic City, New Jersey , U.S. |
| 1985-03-13 | W | Mike Golden | TKO | 4 | Scope , Norfolk, Virginia , U.S. |
| 1985-04-20 | W | Nick Parker | UD | 6 | Memorial Coliseum , Corpus Christi, Texas , U.S. |
| 1985-07-20 | W | John Senegal | TKO | 2 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1985-08-29 | W | Teddy Hatfield | KO | 3 | Omni Coliseum , Atlanta, Georgia , U.S. |
| 1985-11-12 | W | Jesus De la Cruz | TKO | 1 | Country Connection, Pasadena, Texas , U.S. |
| 1986-03-09 | W | John Montes | UD | 10 | Coliseum , Hampton, Virginia , U.S. |
| 1986-08-16 | W | Rafael Williams | UD | 10 | Sands , Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1986-10-09 | W | Rafael Gandarilla | UD | 10 | Felt Forum , New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1986-12-20 | W | Alfredo Layne | UD | 10 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1987-03-28 | W | Roger Mayweather | UD | 12 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1987-06-28 | W | Jim Flores | TKO | 1 | Las Americas Arena, Houston , Texas, U.S. |
| 1987-07-25 | W | Miguel Santana | TKO | 6 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1987-12-19 | W | Davey Montana | TKO | 4 | Paris , France |
| 1988-03-12 | L | Jose Luis Ramírez | SD | 12 | Stade de Levallois, Levallois-Perret , France |
| 1988-11-02 | W | Antonio Carter | TKO | 4 | Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia , U.S. |
| 1989-02-18 | W | Greg Haugen | UD | 12 | Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1989-04-30 | W | Louie Lomeli | TKO | 3 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1989-08-20 | W | José Luis Ramírez | UD | 12 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1989-12-11 | W | Martin Galvan | TKO | 3 | Les Pyramides, Le Port-Marly , France |
| 1990-02-03 | W | Freddie Pendleton | UD | 12 | Convention Hall , Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1990-05-19 | W | Azumah Nelson | UD | 12 | Caesars Palace , Paradise, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1990-08-11 | W | Juan Nazario | KO | 1 | Caesars Tahoe , Stateline, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1990-11-22 | W | Benjie Marquez | UD | 10 | Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad , Madrid , Spain |
| 1991-02-23 | W | Anthony Jones | UD | 12 | Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1991-07-27 | W | Poli Díaz | UD | 12 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1991-10-05 | W | Jorge Páez | UD | 12 | Convention Center , Reno, Nevada , U.S. |
| 1992-01-18 | W | Harold Brazier | UD | 10 | Pennsylvania Hall , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , U.S. |
| 1992-05-22 | W | Jerry Smith | KO | 1 | El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City , Mexico |
| 1992-07-18 | W | Rafael Pineda | UD | 12 | The Mirage , Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1992-12-01 | W | Ben Baez | KO | 1 | Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1993-03-06 | W | James McGirt | UD | 12 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 1993-09-10 | D | Julio César Chávez | MD | 12 | Alamodome , San Antonio , Texas, U.S. |
| 1994-04-09 | W | Santos Cardona | UD | 12 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1994-10-01 | W | James McGirt | UD | 12 | Scope, Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| 1995-03-04 | W | Julio César Vásquez | UD | 12 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1995-08-26 | W | Gary Jacobs | UD | 12 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1995-11-18 | W | Jake Rodríguez | KO | 6 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1996-04-12 | W | Wilfredo Rivera | SD | 12 | Atlantis World Casino, Sint Maarten , Netherlands Antilles |
| 1996-09-20 | W | Wilfredo Rivera | UD | 12 | James L. Knight Center , Miami, Florida , U.S. |
| 1997-01-24 | W | Diosbelys Hurtado | TKO | 11 | Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| 1997-04-12 | L | Oscar De La Hoya | UD | 12 | Thomas & Mack Center , Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| 1997-10-17 | NC | Andrey Pestryayev | UD | 12 | Foxwoods Resort Casino , Ledyard, Connecticut , U.S. |
| 1999-02-20 | L | Félix Trinidad | UD | 12 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| 2001-04-27 | L | Carlos Bojorquez | TKO | 4 | Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, U.S. |
Showing 46 of 46 recorded fights · last updated 2026-10-17. Imported record tables are not independently verified and may be incomplete. Early-era logs include newspaper decisions (NWS), which are not counted in the official totals above.
Record notes
Fight record last retrieved: 2026-10-17. Title histories remain subject to archival review.
Historical-era totals differ between record-keeping conventions (newspaper decisions, exhibitions).
Compare with another fighter