Belgian-Moroccan boxer Youssef Boughanem sends a pickpocket to the hospital

Belgian-Moroccan boxing champion Youssef Boughanem has been charged with assault and battery, according to RTL Info, a Belgian newspaper quoting La Dernière heure.

While eating fries and waiting for a friend, last week in Ixelles, in the Brussels Region, a pickpocket tried to steal his mobile phone for the first time. The boxer pushed him away.

The man then tried again a few minutes later to steal his phone. Caught red handed, the man was slapped twice by the boxer.

The thief would then have put his hand in the pocket. «I thought he was going to pull out a blade and I kicked him in the legs. He fell to the ground», says Youssef Boughanem told La Dernière heure. The thief was admitted to the hospital.

Arrested by the police, the boxer was released by decision of the investigating judge but was charged with assault and battery.