Perry Scott Walker (October 30, 1969 – January 31, 2004) was a professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. Walker's nickname was "The Pink Cat", and he gained some attention in the 1990s boxing scene for wearing pink boxing trunks and slicked-back hair, the latter a tribute to his idol,

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

. He is best known for winning a ten round decision over hall-of-fame champion

Alexis Argüello Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 19 ...

, ending Arguello's ill-conceived bid at a comeback in January 1995. Six months after this victory, Walker won the WBC Continental Americas super lightweight title over Francisco Cuesta on July 17, 1995. This victory led to negotiations for a title shot against another hall-of-famer,

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

. Early in January 1996,

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

's Top Rank Boxing offered Walker $55,000 to fight for Chavez's WBC junior welterweight title. This fight was considered a tune-up for Chavez's June 1996 bout against

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. Apparently, Chavez didn't want to risk the possibility that Walker could derail his plans for the de la Hoya fight, so Arum switched the Chavez-Walker fight to a non-title, ten-round event. The fight, nationally televised, took place on February 9, 1996 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Walker won the first round on two of the three judges' scorecards, but he got caught with a Chavez right hand half-way through the second round, after which he took a pummeling that referee

Joe Cortez Joe Cortez (born October 13, 1945) is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Biography Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. H ...

stopped at the 2:45 mark of the round, resulting in a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

loss for Walker. This marked the first time (of only two times) that Walker was knocked out. Walker was paid $62,500 for his effort; Top Rank added $7,500 for withdrawing the title opportunity. He retired with a record of 25–7–1 (13 KO's). His last fight was a decision loss against Martin Ramirez in January 2001. In addition to his boxing career, Walker was a guitarist, singer and songwriter, and fronted The Pink Cat Band. They released a six-song CD called ''Bounty Hunter''. Walker was found dead in his home of unspecified causes. He is a member of the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Boxing Hall of Fame.

References

External links

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Scott Walker and the Pink Cat Band - "Bounty Hunter" video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Scott Boxers from Arizona Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona 1969 births 2004 deaths People from Apache Junction, Arizona American male boxers Light-welterweight boxers Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area Guitarists from Arizona Songwriters from Arizona