CRAFTON, Pa. – Former lightweight boxing champ Paul Spadafora faces a preliminary hearing on charges he put a woman in a semi-headlock at a Pittsburgh-area bar, drank some of her beer and then threw her to the ground when she went outside to call police.
Witnesses say the 40-year-old boxer from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, was baiting patrons at the Redstone Tavern in Crafton on April 7 before grabbing the woman.
Police say Spadafora followed her when she went outside to call 911 and threw her to the ground, leaving before police arrived.
Spadafora's attorney says the incident was a misunderstanding and that he hopes to settle by having the charges withdrawn at Thursday's hearing.
Prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew charges that Spadafora held a knife in front a store clerk later that same day.
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