Former heavyweight contender Peter McNeeley, who lost to Mike Tyson in 1995, was arrested Thursday on charges that he drove a getaway car in a drug store robbery.
McNeeley, 37, of Norwood, was being held without bail pending arraignment in Stoughton District Court. Neeley was arrested with Robert Perry, 47, of Norwood, who was charged with armed robbery. McNeeley was charged with accessory after the fact.
Perry approached the checkout counter of a Walgreen drug store in Stoughton around 1 a.m. Thursday and demanded money from the clerk, police Lt. Thomas Murphy said.
The clerk handed over money, and Perry got into a car waiting in the parking lot, Murphy said.
Police in neighboring Canton who had been alerted to watch out for the car pulled over a vehicle driven by McNeeley. He and Perry were arrested after witnesses identified the men, Murphy said. Police recovered $180 in cash. They did not find a weapon.
McNeeley, whose ring nickname was "The Hurricane," emerged in the spotlight in 1995 when he fought Tyson, the former champion. The fight, Tyson's first after serving a prison sentence for rape, was stopped in the first round after Tyson twice knocked down McNeeley.
In March, McNeeley was arrested in an assault on a bar patron in Norwood. He pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery and unarmed robbery.
In recent years, McNeeley has taught a boxing class at a gym in Needham. In a 2002 interview with The Boston Globe, McNeeley acknowledged struggling with alcohol and drug abuse.
