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Ex-boxing champ surprises muggers
Three muggers got a nasty surprise when they tried to rob a 67-year-old former British boxing champion.
George Bayliss, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, who won an amateur light-middleweight title 40 years ago, was attacked near his home on Tuesday.
When the gang tried to mug him, Mr Bayliss reacted by throwing a left hook and the gang ran off.
"They weren't up to much as opponents - I've faced much tougher people in the ring," said Mr Bayliss.
"They picked on the wrong man. I'm a southpaw, so I hit the ring leader on the chin with a left hook and all three ran off.
'Made big mistake'
"It's hard enough for me to make ends meet as it is. There was no way I was going to let them have my pension."
Mr Baylis, an ex-Army unarmed combat trainer, added: "I've got grey hair now, so perhaps they thought I looked a bit frail. But they made a big mistake."
Mr Bayliss won an ABA title in the late 1960s, and was runner-up five times.
"I'm only about 5ft 11in now and weigh about 13 stone, but I know how to take care of myself," he said.
"I won a National Senior Amateur title and I represented England three times as a boxer.
"The thieves obviously didn't know that, unfortunately for them."
A police spokeswoman said that Mr Bayliss' actions had probably prevented a more serious crime being committed, but she added: "We would never encourage members of the public to retaliate when they find themselves in a threatening position as they may provoke the situation and make themselves more vulnerable."
Police say the three robbers were all white and in their twenties. One spoke with an Eastern European accent, said the spokeswoman.
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