Career
He was released on good behavior after serving 10 years. 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 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 eighth 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. 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.
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
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 an allegedly cocaine fueled crime spree that included robbing a check cashing business, carjacking and kidnapping a family, and attempting to shoot two policemen. In April 2013 his sentence was reduced from 150 years to 105 years due to a technicality.
