Commission may consider settlement with Gilbert

The Nevada State Athletic Commission will possibly consider another a revised settlement offer by Reno middleweight Joey Gilbert when it meets for a telephonic hearing on Wednesday, according to David Newton, senior deputy attorney general for the state of Nevada.

Newton said the five-member commission would first decide whether to accept the item for discussion either telephonically or in an in-person hearing at a later date.

Newton said if the commission agrees to hear the proposed settlement offer Wednesday, it could also decide whether to accept the agreement and end Gilbert's temporary suspension.

In an in-person hearing May 24 in Las Vegas, the commission voted 5-0 to reject the stipulated agreement reached by Gilbert, his attorney Mark Schopper, of Reno, and Christopher Eccles, deputy attorney general for the state of Nevada.

The commission temporarily suspended the 32-year-old Gilbert, 16-1 with 12 knockouts, after he tested positive for several banned substances, including the steroid Stanazolol metabolite, following his Sept. 21 victory over Charles Howe, of Grelton, Ohio, at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

Eccles said the two parties have been continuing to work together in hopes of reaching a possible settlement.

Gilbert, once ranked as high as No. 4 by the WBO, was stripped of both his North American Boxing Organization (NABO) and WBC-affiliated United States National Boxing Championship (USNBC) middleweight belts following his one-round technical knockout of Howe and subsequent suspension. He is currently not rated by any of the sport's four major sanctioning bodies.

Gilbert, a three-time national champion for the University of Nevada club boxing team, said in May that he spent more than $25,000 in legal and witness fees. In addition, his promoter's license has not been reactivated for 2008.

Even if the commission elects to end Gilbert's suspension, it could still fine him and change his victory over Howe to a no-contest