| Clifford Etienne | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Clifford Etienne |
| Nickname(s) | The Black Rhino |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | March 9, 1972 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.
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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.
Upon being paroled from prison in 1998 he became a professional boxer; he won 29 matches (20 knockouts), lost 4, and drew 2.
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.
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.
On August 11, 2005, Fightnews.com reported Etienne's ring career likely over with the following story:
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].
| 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 | |