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Former champ Nunn sentenced to 24 years
Jan. 30, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- Former middleweight champion Michael Nunn was sentenced Friday to more than 24 years in prison for buying two pounds of cocaine from an undercover agent more than a year ago.
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Nunn, 40, was arrested Aug. 6, 2002, at a hotel in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, moments after paying an agent $200 for one kilogram of cocaine that had an estimated street value of $24,000. He pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Nunn, a former IBF middleweight and WBA super middleweight champion, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William Gritzner.
Gritzner agreed to a higher sentencing guideline after considering Nunn's long history in drug trafficking and the likelihood he used a firearm during drug deals.
During the three-day sentencing hearing, prosecutors called witnesses who testified about Nunn's drug activity dating back as far as 1993. Nunn, who accepted responsibility for buying the drugs in August 2002, denied his involvement in drug trafficking, pointing out that several of the witnesses were in prison and could have their sentences reduced for providing testimony.
Nunn, who was defiant throughout the hearing Friday, accused government lawyers of lying and scheming to bring him down.
"You guys haven't shown me nothing," Nunn said in his statement to the judge. "Where are your facts, Mr. Prosecutor?"
Nunn had a 58-4 record with 38 knockouts and earned at least $6 million as one of the world's top boxers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Nunn's attorney, Anthony Schumann, said he would consider appealing the sentence or asking Gritzner to reconsider.
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