Chris Clarke Off to Jail
Paul Dalrymple
The Associated Press
09/21/99 10:13 PM Eastern
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) -- Chris Clarke, a member of Canada's Olympic
boxing team in 1976, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for
selling drugs.
Clarke, who became a Commonwealth and Canadian champion as a professional,
pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking cocaine at a Halifax bar.
This was the second time the 42-year-old Clarke has been before the court on
drug charges. In 1991, he was sentenced to 16 months in jail for selling
cocaine to an undercover policewoman.
Clarke, a member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame, sold small amounts of
cocaine and crack to an undercover officer in June 1998.
Clarke held the Commonwealth welterweight and Canadian middleweight titles
in the late 1970s. His 21-year boxing career ended on Sept. 29, 1987, when
he was knocked out by Shawn O'Sullivan.
Clarke had plans to re-enter the ring in 1993 but was unable to get a boxing
license when doctors found an irregularity during a routine CAT scan.
He testified later that year during an assault trial that he had a brain
injury and had trouble hearing.