Caymanian pro Charles Whittaker wins title defence at home
By the force of his will, Charles Whittaker has made himself into the most beloved athlete in the Cayman Islands today. No one else inspires as much passion and loyalty as the little boy from West Bay who dared to pick a fight with the world. Photo: Guy P. Harrison |
When the bell rings to begin the first round Saturday night, Caymanian Charles Whittaker and American Servando Perales don’t hesitate to begin their brutal dance at the Kings Sports Center, Grand Cayman. Within seconds Whittaker begins to impose his will on the visitor. The passionate home crowd senses a quick end and rise higher on their toes with each blow.
It is apparent what Whittaker has been doing all these years that he has been away from the Cayman Islands, wandering the wilderness of America in a sort of self-imposed exile. He certainly has not become soft. He has become hardened. He is smarter, stronger, faster, better.
Whittaker’s long arms repeatedly coil and lash out at Perales like angry rattlesnakes. Even when competently blocked, Perales feels Whittaker’s punches. The pop of the strikes excite everyone present, with one exception. Even as he unleashes hell on his opponent, Whittaker seems cool and relaxed. The jab, the left hook, everything is working tonight. Throughout this high speed assault, Whittaker is always methodical and determined, just as he has been since he decided to be a professional boxer.
Whittaker knocks Perales down. Poor Perales not only has to clear his head and go back for more; he has to rise up against the weight of 800 cheering fans. Waiting to resume the battle, Whittaker stares at Perales with tired eyes, tired perhaps from all the work he had to do to make the fight happen.
Leading up to the fight he had to beg sponsors, debate doubters and do everything possible to make sure people showed up. In between all that, of course, he had to get ready to fight. But while his eyes might have betrayed some fatigue, his body appears tireless and invincible. One can see the power yearning to be free within his muscles. Whittaker was born with a gangly, nothing-to-special frame. Countless hours in gyms, however, have transformed that body into a tight, razor sharp fighting machine. Still, Whittaker’s back and shoulders are hunched over, almost as if his spine is straining under the weight of this ‘impossible’ dream he has been carrying around for most of his life.
After all these years, Whittaker remains determined to be the best in the world. In the meantime, however, he has to keep figuring out how to pay his bills just like the rest of us. Unlike the rest of us, he also has to continually push his mind and body hard in training, harder than those of us down in the ground level seats can ever imagine. He continually has to ignore the doubts, both from within and without. No, not ignore them; he has to confront them and pummel them into silence. Of course, he also has to keep chopping down whoever rises up from a stool and comes at him from across a boxing ring.
Before the round can end, Whittaker’s will, and horrific hooks put Perales on the canvas for good. Victory for Charles can hardly be sweeter. It was quick, decisive and satisfying to those who were willing to invest in the price of a ticket to watch him try.
The win is significant. It bumps Whittaker up to #20 in the WBC rankings. He is now perhaps just a year away from a fight with a top-ten fighter and then, if all goes well, a title shot. He holds The WBC Caribbean Junior Middleweight title, the WBA Caribbean Junior Middleweight championship, and the IBO Junior Middleweight belt. His record is 26 wins, 12 losses and one draw. He has 16 KOs.
Whittaker’s next fight may prove to be one of the biggest Cayman Islands sports events ever as he plans to take on Jamaican Anthony Osborne in a title defense. That clash, set for February of next year, is certain to be a big draw, given Cayman’s large Jamaican expatriate population and the often tense rivalry between the two countries.
Whittaker thanked the fans, sponsors and his trainer, Norman Wilson.
‘If I had been with Norman 10 years ago, I would be a millionaire and a world champion right now,’ said Whittaker. ‘He is a great trainer and a great person.’
Whittaker was stung by the Cayman Islands Government’s refusal to get behind this fight. He said that the Sports Ministry had feared the event might be ‘an embarrassment to the country’.
‘I hope they see now that I am not an embarrassment to this country and that the people came out and supported this fight. Somebody needs to tell them. I did it and I did it my way.’
‘He was punching tonight,’ said Whittaker’s trainer, Norman Wilson. ‘He had a lot on his mind but he let it out with his fists. If you saw the power in those punches, you wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of them. I wasn’t worried because when we walk out of the dressing room, hitting the way he was hitting [in warm-up], I know he’s all right. I can just read a newspaper in the corner during the fight.’
Wilson says a fight with a top-ten boxer is in sight now.
‘First and foremost, I thank God. With him all things are possible,’ Whittaker declared. ‘I am so grateful to the fans for coming out. You are only as big as the people make you. I feel like I can’t lose because I would be letting them down.’
Whittaker’s stage name may be ‘Killa’ but nothing to justified that harsh nickname Saturday night. Yes, he dispatched Perales with the cold efficiency of a hit man but there was no anger in it, no hint of animosity in the act. If anything, Whittaker seemed to be about only love and life. After the swinging stopped, for example, he was quick to embrace his fallen foe as a friend. As the ring filled with family, fans and well wishers, Whittaker seemed to have time and a smile for each and every one of them. Yes, he raised his arms in triumph, but there was no hint of bragging, no pride run amok. In his moment of glory, at home in front of his people, Whittaker was remarkably calm and humble. He embraced his beloved mother, Buleah McField, even as children and old people jockeyed to be near him. He did not carry himself as if he thought he was a star to be worshiped. It was Whittaker’s moment and he did not spoil it by behaving like a sports cliché.
Yes, it is difficult to believe that Charles Whittaker really will make it to the top of professional boxing. But it is even more difficult not to believe it, especially when doubt collides with such rare and relentless determination. His confidence is like a contagious germ. Stand near enough to him and you might come down with it.
He won’t agree, but climbing that mountain may not matter as much as Whittaker and his fans believe. He has, after all, already reached one unlikely summit. By the force of his will, he has made himself into the most beloved athlete in the Cayman Islands today. No one else inspires as much passion and loyalty as the little boy from West Bay who dared to pick a fight with the world. Time will tell if Charles Whittaker can be the world’s champion. He already is, however, our champion.
Guy P. Harrison is at [email protected]
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