Lance Whitaker
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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| Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Mount Goofi | |||||||||||||||||||
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reach | 84 in (213 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 29, 1972 Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stance | Orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||
| Boxing record | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total fights | 43 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 35 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Wins by KO | 28 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Draws | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Amateur career
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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
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.
Amateur career
- National Golden Gloves Super Heavyweight (1993)
- United States (AAU) National Amateur Super Heavyweight champion (1994)