Ex-Boxing Champion Pleads No Contest to Drug Count

Former world featherweight boxing champion Bobby Chacon pleaded no contest Wednesday to a charge of selling cocaine and was sentenced to a drug rehabilitation program and three years’ probation.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Candace J. Beason ruled that because it was Chacon’s first felony and because he suffers from pugilistic dementia--a condition that, in street terms, is said to leave its victims “punch drunk”--he should enter a live-in drug rehabilitation program instead of prison.

Chacon, 43, of Pacoima, and co-defendant Yolanda Medina were arrested Sept. 12 for selling rock cocaine to undercover Los Angeles police officer Roger Morales on Tamarack Avenue in Pacoima. Medina handed the officer 0.12 of a gram of rock cocaine, investigators said. While Chacon never handled the cocaine or any money, he facilitated the transaction, they said.

Medina, who officials said has an extensive drug-crime record, pleaded no contest to the charges against her Wednesday and was sentenced to six years in prison. She will be evaluated to determine whether she qualifies for a state rehabilitation center, officials said.

Chacon is expected to remain in the rehabilitation program at least several months, officials said.