Clifford Etienne - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Clifford Etienne also known as "The Black Rhino", is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

boxer, who is currently serving a 150 year prison sentence without possibility of parole.

Background

Etienne took up boxing while serving a 40 year prison sentence for armed robbery and won the state prison boxing championship. While in prison he was a member of the "Gunslingers" prison boxing team in Louisiana and reportedly had an 30-0 prison record. He was released on good behavior after serving 10 years.

Professional career

Upon being paroled from prison in 1998 he became a professional boxer; he won 29 matches (20 knockouts), lost 4, and drew 2.

Rise to the top

Etienne was named 2000's "Most Exciting Fighter to Watch" in the heavyweight division by The Ring Magazine, largely the result of his unanimous decision over then-undefeated Lawrence Clay Bey

Lawrence Clay Bey

Lawrence Marvin Clay-Bey is an American heavyweight professional boxer. Although he had a very promising amateur career, as a pro, Clay-Bey never lived up to the hype that once surrounded him....

. The fight was widely considered to be one of the best heavyweight matches of that year. He also beat Lamon Brewster

Lamon Brewster

"Relentless" Lamon Tajuan Brewster is a retired American professional heavyweight boxer, and former WBO heavyweight champion. He won the silver medal as an amateur at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata....

, the future WBO heavyweight champion, on points after ten rounds in May 2000. He landed a contract with Showtime and his stock began to rise, but it quickly fell after an upset loss to Fres Oquendo

Fres Oquendo

Fres Oquendo was born April 1, 1973 in Puerto Rico, and is a professional heavyweight boxer.He had a successful amateur background.-Amateur career:He had an amateur record of 105-51990 178 lb. Springfield Golden Gloves Champion1992 178 lb...

, who stopped Etienne in the eight round of their fight in March 2001.

After re-building some of his lost stature with wins, he was catapulted to the world's stage in a 2003 fight against Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

, where Etienne suffered a first round knock-out only 49 seconds after being caught with a right hand.

He holds notable wins over Cliff Couser

Cliff Couser

Clifford Couser is a heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Black Bull" and often "Twin Tyson" for his resemblance to Mike Tyson, Couser fought several contenders from his era...

, Lawrence Clay Bey

Lawrence Clay Bey

Lawrence Marvin Clay-Bey is an American heavyweight professional boxer. Although he had a very promising amateur career, as a pro, Clay-Bey never lived up to the hype that once surrounded him....

and Lamon Brewster

Lamon Brewster

Decline

After the loss to Tyson, Etienne's future seemed to be that of a journeyman opponent. Calvin Brock

Calvin Brock

Calvin Vance Brock is a retired professional heavyweight boxer.Following his loss to fellow American Eddie Chambers, Brock was forced to retire from the sport of boxing, after receiving retinal damage in his right eye.- Biography :Brock is known not only for his boxing skills but also for his...

stopped Etienne in the third round in January 2005.

Etienne's last fight was against Nicolay Valuev. "The Beast from the East", who would go on to become the WBA champion, stopped Etienne in the third round of their fight in Bayreuth, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

in May 2005.

Trouble outside the ring

On August 11, 2005, Fightnews.com reported Etienne's ring career likely over with the following story:

Well known heavyweight Clifford Etienne was arrested Wednesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on charges of armed robbery, kidnapping and the attempted murder of a police officer. Etienne allegedly robbed a local business, car-jacked a vehicle containing a woman and her children, then pulled a gun on police officers. He is being held in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison with a $70,000 bond.

On June 22, 2006, following his trial in Baton Rouge, Etienne was found guilty and sentenced to 150 years in prison without parole for a cocaine fueled crime spree that included robbing a check cashing business, carjacking

Carjacking

Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...

and kidnapping a family, and attempting to shoot two policemen http://www.usatoday.com/sports/boxing/2006-06-23-etienne-sentenced_x.htm.

Professional boxing record

Nikolay Valuev
|KO
|3
|14/05/2005
|align=left|

Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Bayern

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Calvin Brock

|TKO
|3
|21/01/2005
|align=left|

Reliant Center

Reliant Center is a convention center in Houston, Texas, USA, part of the Reliant Park complex that was constructed around the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium. Reliant Center hosts various events year-round, including portions of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, who maintains its offices on the...

, Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, Texas

Texas