Lance Whitaker

Lance Whitaker
Lance Whitaker
Born	May 29, 1972 (age 52); Granada Hills, Los Angeles,; California, U.S.
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
Men's boxing
Representing United States
Goodwill Games
Pan American Games

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]

National Golden Gloves, Little Rock, Arkansas, May 1993:

1/4: Defeated Marcus Johnson
1/2: Defeated Levone Seegars KO 1
Finals: Defeated Ed Mahone PTS

U.S. Olympic Festival, San Antonio, Texas, July-August 1993:

Finals: Lost to Reginald Blackmon 9–18

United States National Championships, 1994:

Finals: Defeated Robert Geer PTS

Goodwill Games, Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 1994:

1/2: Defeated Erik Fuhrmann (Germany) 21–3
Finals: Lost to Alexei Lezin (Russia) 0–17

U.S. Pan Am Trials, Portland, Oregon, January 1995:

1/2: Defeated Ed Mahone 32–21
Finals: Defeated Alvin Manley 25–13

Giraldo Córdova Cardín, Matanzas, Cuba, February 1995:

1/4: Defeated Roberto Camilo (Cuba) 13–9
1/2: Lost to Pedro Carrión (Cuba) by walkover

Pan American Games, Mar del Plata, Argentina, March 1995:

1/4: Defeated Andrew Stewart (Grenada) by walkover
1/2: Lost to Leonardo Martinez Fizz (Cuba) KO 1

United States National Championships, Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 1996:

Finals: Lost to Lawrence Clay-Bey RSC 3

U.S. Olympic Box-Offs, 1996:

Day 1: Lost to T. J. Wilson PTS
Day 2: Lost to Charles Shufford

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	Opp Record	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.