Clifford Etienne

Clifford Etienne
Statistics
Real name	Clifford Etienne
Nickname(s)	The Black Rhino
Rated at	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Born	March 9, 1972 (1972-03-09) (age 39) Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	35
Wins	29
Wins by KO	20
Losses	4
Draws	2
No contests	0

Clifford Etienne (born March 9, 1972 in Lafayette, Louisiana), also known as "The Black Rhino", is a former American 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. The fight was widely considered to be one of the best heavyweight matches of that year. He also beat Lamon Brewster, 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, 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, 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, Lawrence Clay Bey and Lamon Brewster.

Decline

After the loss to Tyson, Etienne's future seemed to be that of a journeyman opponent. Calvin Brock 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 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 and kidnapping a family, and attempting to shoot two policemen [1].

Professional boxing record

29 Wins (20 knockouts, 9 decisions), 4 Losses (4 knockouts, 0 decisions), 2 Draws [2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	29-4-2	Nikolay Valuev	KO	3 (12)	14/05/2005	Oberfrankenhalle, Bayreuth, Bayern, Germany	For WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title. Etienne down twice in round 3rd.
Loss	29-3-2	Calvin Brock	TKO	3 (10)	21/01/2005	Reliant Center, Houston, Texas, United States	Etienne was knocked down once in the 2nd, and twice in the 3rd round.
Win	29-2-2	Kenny Craven	TKO	2 (10)	27/11/2004	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky, United States	Etienne down in round 1. Craven was unable to continue due to a cut over his left eye.
Win	28-2-2	Talmadge Griffis	UD	10	09/06/2004	City Center Pavilion, Reno, Nevada, United States
Win	27-2-2	Onebo Maxime	UD	8	27/05/2004	Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana, United States
Draw	26-2-2	Gilbert Martinez	PTS	8	27/03/2004	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada, United States
Win	26-2-1	Mike Sheppard	KO	2 (8)	21/02/2004	Chapparal's, Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	25-2-1	Shawn Robinson	TKO	4 (8)	07/02/2004	Riehle Brothers Pavilion, Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Loss	24-2-1	Mike Tyson	KO	1 (10)	22/02/2003	The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Draw	24-1-1	Francois Botha	PTS	10	27/07/2002	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States	Etienne down in the 5th and 6th rounds.
Win	24–1	Terrence Lewis	UD	10	27/04/2002	Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	23–1	Gabe Brown	TKO	7 (10)	02/02/2002	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, United States
Win	22–1	Dan Ward	TKO	2 (12)	08/12/2001	Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, United States	Won vacant IBA Americas Heavyweight title.
Win	21–1	Ken Murphy	KO	1 (10)	31/08/2001	Grand Casino, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States
Win	20–1	Arthur Weathers	KO	1 (10)	22/06/2001	Grand Casino, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States
Loss	19–1	Fres Oquendo	TKO	8 (10)	23/03/2001	Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Etienne knocked down seven times, all by overhand rights: three times in the 1st round, once in the 2nd, once in the 3rd, once in the 7th and once in the 8th round.
Win	19–0	Lawrence Clay Bey	UD	10	11/11/2000	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Etienne was hurt at the end of the 2nd round and in the 7th round.
Win	18–0	Cliff Couser	TKO	3 (10)	09/09/2000	Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Chester, West Virginia, United States	Won vacant NABF Heavyweight title. Title had been vacated by Michael Grant.
Win	17–0	Joey Guy	KO	3 (12)	30/06/2000	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States	Won vacant IBA Continental Heavyweight title.
Win	16–0	Lamon Brewster	UD	10	06/05/2000	Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States	Lamon Brewster tore his knee ligaments in the 1st.
Win	15–0	Harold Sconiers	UD	10	18/03/2000	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Win	14–0	James Jones	TKO	2 (10)	26/02/2000	Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, United States	Etienne down in the 1st round.
Win	13–0	Marvin Hunt	TKO	1 (6)	28/01/2000	The Ruins, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	12–0	Dan Conway	TKO	1 (4)	26/11/1999	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	11–0	Darrell Morgan	TKO	1 (4)	17/09/1999	All American Sports Park, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	10–0	Clarence Goins	KO	1 (?)	08/09/1999	Treasure Chest Casino, Kenner, Louisiana, United States
Win	9–0	Abdul Muhaymin	UD	8	20/08/1999	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Win	8–0	Eric Jackson	KO	1 (8)	11/06/1999	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States
Win	7–0	Ronnie Smith	KO	1 (?)	30/04/1999	Marksville, Louisiana, United States
Win	6–0	Larry Scott	UD	6	15/04/1999	Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort, Miami, Florida, United States
Win	5–0	Wesley Martin	TKO	6 (6)	27/02/1999	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Win	4–0	Willie Kyles	TKO	1 (6)	06/02/1999	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States
Win	3–0	Eddie Richardson	UD	6	19/01/1999	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	2–0	Curt Render	TKO	1 (4)	11/12/1998	Marksville, Louisiana, United States
Win	1–0	John Randall	KO	1 (4)	03/12/1998	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States

References

• Mike Tyson KOs Clifford Etienne
• Tyson knocks out Etienne in 49 seconds
• Etienne arrested
• Heavyweight boxer Etienne arrested
• Clifford Etienne “The Black Rhino” Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison

External links

• Professional boxing record for Clifford Etienne from BoxRec

Persondata
Name	Etienne, Clifford
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 9, 1972
Place of birth	Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death