CHICAGO (AP) - Retired heavyweight Andrew Golota could be deported from the United States to his native Poland.
The 44-year-old boxer's case is in court and his wife, Mariola Golota, told The Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/MLnRwV) that a decision is expected in September.
Golota was a title contender with bouts against Mike Tyson (2000) and two against Riddick Bowe in 1996 that ended in disqualifications for throwing low blows. He also won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics.
Golota lives in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook as a legal permanent resident of the U.S., but a criminal background check was triggered when he filed paperwork to become an American citizen.
Golota pleaded guilty in a 2006 Cook County involving a dozen firearms found in his home. Golota's firearm owner's identification card was temporarily revoked at the time. He also pleaded guilty in Will County in 2003 to impersonating a police officer. Golota was accused of flashing an honorary New Jersey police badge when he was pulled over in the Chicago suburbs.
Mariola Golota said the deportation case is ``this big, black cloud that's hanging over our family.'' An attorney and U.S. citizen, she said her husband is treated more harshly because of his celebrity.
``I'm just hopeful that it's going to turn out OK. It's kind of out of your hands,'' Mariola Golota said. ``Andrew paid dearly for whatever he did. You pay once when you plead guilty and then you pay again, and that's much harsher.''
Since his retirement, Golota has appeared in a commercial for the U.S. Census Bureau and on Poland's version of ``Dancing With the Stars.''
