Boxing champ Deontay Wilder was arrested on a weapons charge Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. According to TMZ, Wilder was stopped around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday on a routine stop for illegally tinted windows and an obstructed license plate. Officers searched Wilder’s car after smelling marijuana and found him possessing a 9mm handgun.
Despite finding weed in his car, the boxing champ won’t be charged with drug possession because recreational marijuana is legal in California.
“During the stop, cops say they smelled an odor of burnt marijuana coming from his ride,” TMZ wrote. “Our sources say they then found weed and a 9mm in the vehicle, and put Wilder into custody. We’re told the 6-foot-7 fighter was cooperative and nice throughout the whole ordeal.”
Wilder was then arrested and, later Tuesday morning was released. The 37-year-old is set to fight Anthony Joshua in December. His latest fight was a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius last October.
Wilder released a short Twitter statement: “I’d rather be safe than sorry. The End,” he wrote. Wilder used to be one of the hottest names in boxing just a few years ago, but after a few losses, his popularity has dropped over the years.
But after his last loss to Fury, the boxer has been barely heard from and seems to be at the end of a very successful career.
{TMZ and Deontay Wilder}
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.