Lance Whitaker
Born (1972-05-29) May 29, 1972 (age 51)
Granada Hills, Los Angeles,
California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMount
Goofi
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 8 in (203 cm)
Reach84 in (213 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights43
Wins35
Wins by KO28
Losses7
Draws1
Medal record
Men's boxing
Representing  United States
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1994 St Petersburg Super heavyweight
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Mar del Plata Super heavyweight

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.

Early life

A 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

Whitaker won the National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight title in 1993, followed by the United States (AAU) National Amateur Super Heavyweight title in 1994.[4]

Professional career

Whitaker 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

Whitaker 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

35 Wins (28 knockouts, 7 decisions), 7 Losses (3 knockouts, 4 decisions), 1 No Contest[5] Result OppRecord Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 12-2-2 Franklin Lawrence KO 7 11/09/2010 Riverside, California, U.S. IBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Title.. Lawrence knocked out at 2:59 of the seventh round. Win 21-1 Andrey Fedosov SD 12 12/06/2010 Hollywood, California, U.S. Loss 53-9 Oliver McCall UD 10 23/10/2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 20-8-2 Mathew Ellis TKO 1 21/08/2009 Redondo Beach, California, U.S. WBC USNBC Heavyweight Title.. Referee stopped the bout at 1:39 of the first round after Ellis had been knocked down thrice. Win 25-6-1 Danny Batchelder UD 10 17/07/2009 Redondo Beach, California, U.S. Loss 11-1 Jason Estrada UD 10 04/04/2008 Lincoln, Rhode Island, U.S. Win 22-24 Ron Johnson TKO 1 23/02/2008 Russellville, Arkansas, U.S. Referee stopped the fight at 0:51 of the first round. Loss 18-0 Sultan Ibragimov TKO 7 15/12/2005 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight Title.. Referee stopped the bout at 2:01 of the seventh round. Win 17-5-1 Gabe Brown TKO 5 01/10/2005 Tampa, Florida, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:42 of the fifth round. Win 14-30-4 Louis Monaco TKO 3 26/08/2005 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:30 of the third round. Loss 27-1-1 Luan Krasniqi KO 6 28/05/2005 Stuttgart, Germany Whitaker knocked out at 2:06 of the sixth round. Win 22-15-1 Otis Tisdale TKO 1 05/08/2004 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the first round. Win 20-1-1 Friday Ahunanya TKO 5 17/04/2004 Tampa, Florida, U.S. NABA/WBO NABO Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 0:42 of the fifth round. Win 34-11-3 Al Cole UD 12 30/10/2003 Coconut Creek, Florida, U.S. NABA Heavyweight Title. Win 20-6 Russell Chasteen TKO 2 28/06/2003 Coconut Creek, Florida, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:57 of the second round. Win 23-7-2 Cliff Couser KO 5 13/10/2002 Choctaw, Mississippi, U.S. Couser knocked out at 2:45 of the fifth round. Draw 16-3 Ray Austin SD 10 13/04/2002 Chester, West Virginia, U.S. Win 13-13-1 Willie Chapman TKO 4 01/02/2002 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the fourth round. Loss 26-2-3 Jameel McCline UD 12 01/12/2001 New York City, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Win 20-3 Oleg Maskaev KO 2 10/03/2001 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Maskaev knocked out at 1:03 of the second round. Win 22-0 Robert Davis TKO 2 07/10/2000 Uncasville, Connecticut, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the second round. Win 21-3-2 David Dixon DQ 1 21/07/2000 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout due to repeated low blows from Dixon. Win 26-8 Thomas Williams TKO 2 11/06/2000 Concho, Oklahoma, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:20 of the second round. Win 21-0 Monte Barrett SD 12 28/08/1999 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Loss 38-2 Lou Savarese SD 10 06/03/1999 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Savarese took a knee in the sixth round. Win 38-2 Alex Stewart TKO 7 16/01/1999 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:40 of the seventh round. Win 10-1 Jason Yarosz TKO 2 08/10/1998 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the second round. Win 4-1 Ray Butler TKO 6 01/05/1998 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:29 of the sixth round. Win 16-14-2 Garing Lane UD 8 27/03/1998 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Win 20-20-1 Everett Martin UD 8 27/02/1998 Studio City, California, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:29 of the sixth round. Win 11-2 Joe Ballard TKO 1 16/01/1998 Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:49 of the first round. Win 26-18-1 Eddie Gonzales TKO 1 13/12/1997 Northlake, Illinois, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:55 of the first round. Win 20-6 Marcus Rhode TKO 2 14/11/1997 South Padre Island, Texas, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 0:51 of the second round. Win 10-0 Larry Menefee TKO 2 17/10/1997 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:11 of the second round. Win 10-5 Isaac Brown TKO 1 09/08/1997 South Padre Island, Texas, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 1:59 of the first round. Win 3-1-1 Muhammed Raheem KO 1 19/07/1997 Indio, California, U.S. Win 8-0-1 Jerriel Bazile TKO 3 05/07/1997 Moline, Illinois, U.S. Referee stopped the bout at 2:10 of the third round. Win 1-1 Orlando Leavall KO 2 25/02/1997 Long Beach, California, U.S. Win 1-8-1 Marco Dickson KO 2 17/01/1997 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Win 1-4 Ricardo Phillips KO 2 03/12/1996 Indio, California, U.S. Win 1-4 Ricardo Phillips KO 2 03/12/1996 Indio, California, U.S. Win 6-7 Dion Burgess KO 1 21/11/1996 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Win 3-6-1 Mario Osuna TKO 1 16/09/1996 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Win 2-2 John Keyes KO 1 10/07/1996 Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

References

  1. ^ Kowalick, Vince (July 10, 1996). "Going for Green, Not Gold". Los Angeles Times. p. 36. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Homeless boxer from L.A. hopes to strike gold". Daily Press. March 21, 1995. p. 11. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Oberjuerge, Paul (March 24, 1995). "Discovery Zone". Los Angeles Times. p. 76. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Leech, Paige A. (July 23, 1994). "Bad Intentions at Goodwill Games". Los Angeles Times. p. 60. Retrieved July 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "BoxRec - Lance Whitaker".

External links

Preceded byJo-el Scott United States Amateur Super Heavyweight Champion 1994 Succeeded byLawrence Clay-Bey
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