Assault conviction cost champ his title

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An out-of-the-ring bout with a cabbie has cost the first Native Canadian heavyweight champ his title.

Danny Stonewalker was stripped of his title Feb. 16 after pleading guilty to assault, failure to appear in court and impaired driving. The Fort McMurray Native was sentenced to 90 days in jail for an incident involving a dispute over cab fare shortly before Christmas 1991.

Under Canadian Professional Boxing Federation's rules, a title is automatically declared vacant when a champ is convicted and jailed for a criminal offence. Glen Carriere, Stonewalker's long-time manager and mentor, said they received the ruling by FAX.

Stonewalker grabbed the crown last October with a six-round technical knockout of Winnipeg's George McFall. The win put the tenacious 31-year-old into the annals of sports history as the first Canadian to win both the light-heavyweight and heavyweight titles.

Becoming the first Native to hold the heavyweight title was a source of great pride to Stonewalker, 14-9-2. Shortly after his October win against McFall, he told reporters it had been a personal dream for a long time.

In order to continue fighting, Stonewalker received 10 adjournments on the charges during the past year. He will be serving the three-month sentence on weekends.

A fight between Dave Fiddler of St. Albert and McFall, scheduled for March 6

in Edmonton, could be sanctioned as a title bout according to boxing federation officials. The winner would replace Stonewalker as Canadian Heavyweight champ.