As BoxingScene.com reported late last night, German heavyweight Manuel Charr is in hospital recovering after being shot in a late-night attack at a kebab snack-bar in Essen.
The 30-year-old, who lost his world heavyweight title fight to ex-champion Vitali Klitscho in 2012 in a one-sided bout, was shot late on Tuesday night, and the gunman is still at large.
Police in Essen confirmed to SID that they have launched an attempted murder investigation to catch the offender and armed officers stormed a flat in Essen on Wednesday morning, but no arrests were made.
Charr underwent emergency surgery after being rushed to hospital in the western German city, but his life is not in danger and the reason for the attack is not known. There are rumors the incident was provoked by a war of words with an Essen man on Facebook.
Charr, nicknamed "Diamond Boy", lost his last bout when he was knocked out by Latvia's Mairis Breidis in Moscow last month having earned a unanimous points win over Australia's Alex Leapai in May.
Charr's close friend, former cruiserweight world champion Marco Huck, was shocked by what happened.
"My friend Manuel Charr was shot late last night, the victim of a cowardly attack. The perpetrator shot like a coward, ambushing my friend Manuel. My brother Kenan and I pray for you, that everything will be fine again," Huck stated to BZ.
"We've known each other for 13, 14 years. We've been on a holiday together, we have a family relationship. What happened really blew me away. It is so cowardly. I've heard that Manuel was occupied with two people who wanted to take a picture with him. Then came a third person came, he had a gun and shot him in the abdomen."
"I am not afraid and clearly support Manuel. I hope the perpetrators get the plague. They are mendacious dogs that have only hatred for people who are a bit more successful than themselves. Pure envy and resentment. Now I hope that this does not leave any permanent damage to Manuel. "
This is not the first time Charr, who is of German-Lebanese origin, has got into trouble outside the ring after being involved in a knife fight in August 2006, after throwing raw eggs at passers-by on Berlin's busy Kurfuerstendamm street.
Charr faced charges of attempted murder, but was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
He has a record of 16 knockouts in 28 wins from 32 bouts with four defeats, three of which were by knockout.
