06-16-2017, 08:32 PM
Heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder charged with drug possession
Deontay Wilder has been charged with drug possession after marijuana was allegedly found in his car.
Heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder has been charged with misdemeanour marijuana possession in Alabama.
However, the undefeated American boxer's lawyer says the marijuana found in his vehicle did not belong to him.
Police in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said in a statement that they arrested Wilder on Wednesday afternoon (Thursday NZ time) after they found marijuana in his Cadillac Escalade.
Wilder, 31, was initially stopped for a window tint violation. Officers searched the SUV after smelling marijuana and found a small amount in the vehicle's console.
Wilder was charged with second-degree marijuana possession, a misdemeanour, and released on US$1000 bond.
Wilder's attorney Paul Patterson told The Associated Press that Wilder said the marijuana did not belong to him.
Patterson said that Wilder had just returned from an out-of-town trip, in which he had been driving another vehicle, and selected the Escalade to run errands around Tuscaloosa.
Wilder has several friends and associates who had access to the Escalade when he was out of town, Patterson said.
"He is heartbroken by this, but the fighter in him is going to ensure he fights and clears his good name," Patterson said.
The two-metre tall fighter is the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.
Wilder has been chasing a fight with Kiwi WBO champion Joseph Parker, with the hope of a unification bout in New York.
Wilder, keen to see one dominant champion of the splintered heavyweight division, envisaged the winner going on to fight Anthony Joshua, the big Brit who owns the WBA and IBF belts.
- AP
Deontay Wilder has been charged with drug possession after marijuana was allegedly found in his car.
Heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder has been charged with misdemeanour marijuana possession in Alabama.
However, the undefeated American boxer's lawyer says the marijuana found in his vehicle did not belong to him.
Police in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said in a statement that they arrested Wilder on Wednesday afternoon (Thursday NZ time) after they found marijuana in his Cadillac Escalade.
Wilder, 31, was initially stopped for a window tint violation. Officers searched the SUV after smelling marijuana and found a small amount in the vehicle's console.
Wilder was charged with second-degree marijuana possession, a misdemeanour, and released on US$1000 bond.
Wilder's attorney Paul Patterson told The Associated Press that Wilder said the marijuana did not belong to him.
Patterson said that Wilder had just returned from an out-of-town trip, in which he had been driving another vehicle, and selected the Escalade to run errands around Tuscaloosa.
Wilder has several friends and associates who had access to the Escalade when he was out of town, Patterson said.
"He is heartbroken by this, but the fighter in him is going to ensure he fights and clears his good name," Patterson said.
The two-metre tall fighter is the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics.
Wilder has been chasing a fight with Kiwi WBO champion Joseph Parker, with the hope of a unification bout in New York.
Wilder, keen to see one dominant champion of the splintered heavyweight division, envisaged the winner going on to fight Anthony Joshua, the big Brit who owns the WBA and IBF belts.
- AP