Pro Boxer "Black Rhino" Sentenced to 160 Years



The Baton Rouge boxer known as the "Black Rhino" was sentenced to 160 years in prison Thursday.

Clifford Etienne robbed a check cashing business on Florida Boulevard in Baton Rouge in August of last year. He then carjacked and kidnapped a family, and attempted to shoot two Baton Rouge police officers. Prosecutors say Etienne will not be eligible for parole.

Etienne began boxing while serving a 10 year prison sentence for armed robbery and won Louisiana's state prison boxing championship. He became a professional boxer after his parole.

He is perhaps best known for his 2003 bout with Mike Tyson, where Etienne was knocked out only 49 seconds in the fight. He made one million dollars from the Tyson match.

"We had expected a significant sentence but the judge exceeded my hopes," commented prosecutor Prem Burns.

"His family is dealing with it pretty hard, to be honest with you," said defense attorney Jim Holt.

In court, his defense attorney claimed The Black Rhino was suffering from a condition known as "cocaine psychosis". The argued he was too high on cocaine when he committed the crimes to know right from wrong -- and that he was insane. The judge rejected both defenses.