Charles Martin Says Police Saved His Life After Forearm Gunshot Wound in LA

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Charles Martin has said that police officers helped to save his life after he was shot in the arm in Los Angeles.

As reported by TMZ Sports, the incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday “when two men approached the vehicle and got into an argument with the boxer.” It’s stated that, according to the police report, shots were fired, Martin pursued the men and crashed before he was shot at again.

After authorities arrived at the scene, they shuttled the fighter to hospital, and he has been there since. Martin said after the shooting he “looked down and saw a pool of blood.”

“I said to myself, 'I gotta get outta here. I’m gonna die. I'm gonna bleed to death',” he continued. "I have to pay respect to the cops. They saved my life.”

ESPN’s Dan Rafael provided an update on the 30-year-old’s condition, reporting surgery on the wound was a success:

As noted by TMZ, Martin said he crashed after he was chased by the shooters, not while in pursuit of them as the authorities had suggested. Police have reportedly not yet been able to locate the suspects, who Martin said he “doesn’t know” and “has no idea why they had beef with him,” per the same source.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

The American previously held the IBF heavyweight championship, winning the belt after beating Vyacheslav Glazkov in January. Martin relinquished the title to Anthony Joshua in April, though, suffering the first loss of his 25-fight professional career after a second-round stoppage.