SWEETPEA'S REMATCH HIS TOUGHEST BATTLE

Cocaine has done to Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker what none of his opponents
ever could in the boxing ring. It has knocked him out -- of his fortune, his
home and his marriage. It has humiliated him before his fans and estranged
him from friends. It has kicked him down a long slide to indignity through
ambulances, police cars, emergency rooms, rehab centers and courtrooms. It
has beaten him within an inch of his life. That's why Judge Thomas Shadrick
didn't do Whitaker any favors on Monday by sparing him jail time. Maybe in
jail, Whitaker would reach rock bottom. With no lower to fall, maybe he
could begin a comeback -- not to the ring, but to self-respect.

But he's escaped again.

In a way, his latest bout in the courtroom seems reminiscent of his greatest
moments in the ring. How many times did we see him flirt with disaster like
an escape artist, evade a devastating punch with lightning head fakes and
then dance away in delight to the applause of the crowd? He was the master
in the ring, pound for pound, the best.

He almost seems to be re-enacting that escape tactic in his battles with the
court. Why else would he bring cocaine into a courtroom with him last August
when he stood before a judge to face serious traffic charges after a
joyride? He was found guilty of the traffic charge and taken into custody,
where deputies discovered a small bag of cocaine in his wallet. It was
almost as if he was tempting a stronger opponent again. Whitaker was charged
with possession and found guilty by Shadrick in January. But Whitaker
avoided jail time, benefiting from the wrist slap given all first offenders.
In March, a mandatory drug test found cocaine in his bloodstream. This
violation of probation put him back in the ring with Shadrick for Monday's
rematch.

It would have been vindictive for Shadrick to lock him up for the maximum of
10 years. The judge treated him no differently from anyone else. He gave the
champ four years in prison, but waived the time and took away his driver's
license for six months. He will be regularly tested for drugs and must
continue in treatment and stay out of trouble for four years.

``If I see you again, you will not be walking out of this courtroom. You
will be going to the penitentiary,'' Shadrick warned Whitaker. Whitaker
said, ``My past is not part of my future.''

Having heard that before, his fans hope this time that it's true. But you
have to wonder whether he's taking secret delight in avoiding a knockout
punch once again.

We wish Whitaker no ill will. We hope his greatest victory is still to come
- -- triumph over addiction, his toughest opponent by far. Winning this battle
would prove him to be a champion not just inside the ring but outside as
well.