Tag Archives: battery

Posted on 02/04/2020

By: Sean Crose

Gervonta Davis has been charged with simple battery/domestic violence by the Coral Gables, Florida police department. The WBA lightweight champion reportedly turned himself in on Tuesday after a video made the rounds during the weekend showing the 23-0 fighter grabbing his ex-girlfriend by the throat and forcefully removing her from the audience of a charity basketball game. “As the result of an ongoing investigation,” the police report read under a mug shot of Davis, “after being notified through social media and the victim, on February 1, 2020, the above pictured subject was observed battering his former girlfriend whom have a child together.”

“I never once hit her,” Davis claimed after the incident in a since deleted tweet, “yea I was aggressive and told her come on… that’s the mother of my child.” The video has led to widespread condemnation. It has also led to some connecting Davis’ behavior to the sport of boxing overall. Couple this latest incident with previous questionable endeavors, and run ins with the law, and Davis’ rise as a top draw in the sport is raising eyebrows. Up until this point, however, he has remained a popular ring attraction.

For Davis is widely regarded as one of the biggest potential stars in boxing. Lightning fast and hard hitting, the 25 year old wins and wins in exciting fashion. Self control is not known to be Davis’s strong suit, however. He’s missed weight before a major fight and has faced police charges in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Neither charge, however, led to a conviction for Davis, who has been being groomed to be a pay per view attraction. Davis’ last fight was in late December, when he bested gritty veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa for the vacant WBA world lightweight title.

Davis is far from the first boxer to be accused of criminal acts. Ring stars from Floyd Mayweather to Mike Tyson to Jake LaMotta to Carlos Monzon have faced serious charges and/or consequences for illegal, sometimes outright brutal behavior. One of Davis contemporaries, former light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev, is currently facing charges of sexual assault in California.

Davis, who has been boxing professionally since 2013, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, and has won major belts in two weight divisions. As of press time, he has not officially commented on his arrest, nor has he commented on the charges against him. 

Posted on 07/22/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

Jon Jones is in trouble again. If it seems like you’ve heard this song and dance before, it’s because you have. Just when the mixed martial arts community was coming around to the notion Jones finally hadn’t failed a pre or post fight test for performance enhancing drug use following his latest matchup against Thiago Santos; Jon inevitably finds himself back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons once again.

According to a July 21, 2019 KRQE News 13 report titled, “Jon ‘Bones’ Jones claims to be unaware of battery charge, warrant until now,” author Jeannie Nguyen writes that, “A popular UFC fighter from Albuquerque with a criminal history, now finds himself in more trouble. Jon “Bones” Jones has been slapped with a battery charge for an incident that happened at a strip club in April.”

For those familiar Jones’s past, claiming complete ignorance about the charge might sound like a hard pill to swallow. The center of controversy in and outside the cage throughout his career, according to KRQE News 13, “This isn’t Jones’ first run-in with the law here in Albuquerque. Back in 2015, he was convicted of leaving the scene after crashing into a car and injuring a pregnant woman.”

With a well-documented history of criminal mischief, a 2018 bloodyelbow.com report titled, “Jon Jones admitted to cocaine use throughout 2017 during USADA arbitration,” went on to note that, “Jon Jones had a well-publicized positive test for cocaine metabolites stemming from a 2014 test ahead of UFC 182.” According to Bloody Elbow, “The arbitration hearing for Jon Jones’ suspension discovered the former UFC champion continued to use cocaine both before and after his positive test for Turinabol, resulting in another stint in rehab.”

“About two weeks ago, Jones was defending his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Thiago Santos,” writes Nguyen. But according to KRQE News 13, “While the spotlight was on him in Las Vegas, there was a bench warrant for his arrest at the time.” According to the report, Jones was at TD’s Eubank Showclub in April when the incident occurred. “A cocktail waitress called officers to her home and told them Jones slapped her inappropriately, and pulled her down to his lap and kissed her neck, while she was at work.”

As if the allegations couldn’t get any worse, according to KRQE, “The waitress told police he also placed her in a chokehold and picked her up off the ground. When she told him to stop, Jones allegedly kept touching her until he decided to leave. He was then charged with battery.” KRQE went on to publish the following message from Jones’s spokesperson James Hallinan:

“Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address. However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public.”

“Since Jones went to pay the cash bond on Sunday, his warrant has been lifted. APD says they never arrested him because they’re not normally made aware of petty misdemeanor warrants like this,” writes Nguyen.

Jones won a controversial split decision over Brazilian Thiago Santos earlier this month. It was a much more competitive fight than many fans and pundits expected, leaving Santos with a new found respect in the mixed martial arts community despite coming up short on the judges score cards. This latest legal setback for Jones is just an indicator of what kind of non-championship lifestyle he is living outside the cage.

Which, if his recent performance against Santos is any indicator, is indicative of his inevitable fall from light heavyweight glory unless he cleans his act up soon. Perhaps the greatest fighter the sport has ever seen, one can only rest on their laurels for so long in the club before a new kid on the block shows up to take your crown.

Posted on 05/23/2017

Anthony Dirrell Speaks Out On Last Saturday Night
By: Sean Crose

Boxing once again received some negative attention last Saturday night when chaos ensued after the Andre Dirrell-Jose Uzcategui super middleweight bout in Maryland. Dirrell was sent down and out by a punch that landed after the bell. Uzcategui was disqualified, but Dirrell’s uncle and trainer, Leon Lawson Jr, sucker punched Uzcategui twice in the fight’s aftermath. He’s now being sought by Maryland police. There was also an incident, however, involving Dirrell’s sibling, Anthony, for video shows the younger Dirrell brother pushing an individual in the post-fight madness. The man who was pushed is said to have been a Maryland commissioner. Needless to say, word was out that the police were quite interested in Anthony’s actions that night, as well as his uncles’.

Anthony Dirrell himself, however, claims the police weren’t interested in him at all last weekend. “They wasn’t even looking for me,” Dirrell said over the phone. “They never interviewed me or nothing.” Dirrell even claimed that the police were rather helpful after the madness that transpired at the MGM Grand National Arena. “They escorted me to my brother’s room,” he claimed. Dirrells’ assertions coincide with those of his representative, Kira Kusky, who I had spoken with earlier in the day. “He is not in any jeopardy,” she said when I asked about a police investigation. “No, not at all.”

And so Anthony Dirrell looks clear to meet Callum Smith next September in California for the WBC world super middleweight title. There was word that the championship battle would be put off due to legal matters stemming from last Saturday, but both Dirrell and his representative assured me that wouldn’t be the case. “His next fight is still on,” Kusky said, a fact Dirrell himself reiterated when we spoke a short time later. “I don’t see how (the fight could be off),” he claimed. “Nobodies’ looking for me.” It’s clear, then, that Dirrell and his team feel it is safe to focus on the talented and undefeated Smith without being impeded by legal matters.

As for older brother, Andre – who found himself on the mat after the bell last Saturday – Dirrell claims he’s doing well. “My bother’s fine,” he said. The saga of Leon Lawson Jr, uncle and trainer, has yet to be resolved (he’s still wanted by police, after all), yet it looks like both Dirrell brothers themselves are free to carry on with their respective careers. Before the call ended I asked Anthony if he’d like to, through his perspective, go over the events at the MGM Grand National Arena. “No,” he responded. “I’m not talking about that.”