Freddie Pendleton
Freddie Pendleton (born January 5, 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired professional boxer in the lightweight (135lb) division.
| Freddie Pendleton | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Freddie Pendleton |
| Nickname(s) | Fearless |
| Weight(s) | Lightweight |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | January 5, 1963 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 78 |
| Wins | 47 |
| Wins by KO | 34 |
| Losses | 26 |
| Draws | 5 |
| No contests | 0 |
Pendleton won his first title in October 1985 knocking out Darryl Martin (9-2) in the 6th round earning him the Pennsylvania State light welterweight title.
In March 1986, "Fearless", who was (14-13) at the time, took on Roger Mayweather (23-3) at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He knocked out Roger in the 6th round for a TKO win.
Four months later, Pendleton took on Frankie Randall (27-1) for the second time. Only this time was for the vacant USBA lightweight title. The fight went the distance and was a draw. Freddie later won the USBA lightweight title and defended it successfully in 1987 and 1988.
In 1990, Pendleton fought a world title against unified WBC & IBF lightweight champion, Pernell Whitaker (20-1). Although prior to the contest, few had placed much faith in Freddie's abilities to provide a competitive effort in the fight, due to his 24-16 record, Freddie did just that. The fight turned out to be a, "barn burner," far better than anyone had expected; It was a genuinely classy effort by Pendleton against one of best fighters in the world. While correctly deemed a unanimous decision win for Whitaker, most observers generally thought the fight was much, much closer than the scorecards reflected(Judges Jim Traylor and Stuart Winston scored it 116-112, with Phil Newman 117-113 all for Pernell Whitaker).
In 1993, he captured the Vacant IBF lightweight title with a decision win over Tracy Spann. He defended the belt once before losing it to Rafael Ruelas in 1994. Although he continued to fight until 2001, Pendleton never regained a major belt, losing to IBF welterweight title holder Félix Trinidad in 1996, IBF light welterweight title holder Vince Phillips in 1997, and WBA welterweight title holder James Page in 1999.
He retired in 2001 after being KO'd by Ricky Hatton.
On June 26, 2011, Freddie Pendleton was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
See also
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pernell Whitaker Vacated |
USBA Lightweight champion September 28, 1987 – October 23, 1990 |
Succeeded by Carl Griffith Filled vacancy |
| IBF Lightweight World champion January 10, 1993 – February 19, 1994 |
Succeeded by Rafael Ruelas | |