The sport of boxing lost a legend on Sunday night when Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker was hit by a car and killed, and his death has hit the boxing community hard.
Whitaker, who was 55, was struck and killed in a tragic accident in Virginia Beach. Details of the crash were not released as of Monday afternoon, with the investigation ongoing, per the City of Virginia Beach.
Several of boxing’s biggest names took to social media to pay tribute to Whitaker after learning the sad news.
Whitaker held numerous titles during his boxing career and had a 40-4-1 record with 17 knockouts. He was one of the best fighters of the 1990s and one of the best defensive boxers of all time. He won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006, in his first year of eligibility.
He made a name for himself similar to the way Floyd Mayweather Jr. did, as he was virtually impossible to hit.
Sweat Pea was truly one of the best to do it.
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