# 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.

## Early life

A native of Granada Hills, Los Angeles, Whitaker attended San Fernando High School, where he played football and basketball. 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.

## 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.

## 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 :
| 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 | Oct 1, 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. | |