Pernell Whitaker, a left-handed defensive master in the boxing ring who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and became a champion in four weight classes as a professional, was killed on Sunday when he was struck by a car in Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach Police Department confirmed the death, saying he was crossing a street at night when he was hit. Whitaker, known as Sweet Pea or Pete, was an elusive fighter who deftly avoided being hit, or hurt, by his opponents. “He could stand in front of you and you couldn’t find him,” Jim Lampley, the longtime HBO boxing announcer, said in a phone interview. “He would smile at you and demonstrate to you, while smiling, how remarkably easy this was for him.”

Source: International New York Times July 15, 2019 22:18 UTC