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Entertainment

Christian brain-damaged boxer attacked and threatened with acid

by Eno Adeogun

Michael Watson, who was left partially-disabled after suffering a near-fatal brain injury in a fight with Chris Eubank in 1991, was attacked last year by two men who tried to steal his car near his home in Chingford, East London.

The former middleweight champion was with his carer and best friend Lennard Ballack, who was doused with ammonia, it is alleged.

The pair were hospitalised for two days.

Simon Luck, 28, and Paul Samuels, 31, were allegedly behind the attack and, with 23-year-old Anselm Legemah, carried out another carjacking a fortnight earlier.

The court heard the suspects targeted Mr Robinson after he drove his white Audi into a petrol station 4th February.

All three men deny conspiracy to rob and applying a corrosive fluid with intent.

The boxer, known as 'The People's Champion', has been very vocal about his faith.

Speaking to The Forgiveness project, he explained he became a committed Christian after regaining consciousness in hospital after his fight with Eubank.

"From the moment I regained consciousness in hospital I took refuge in God.

"I prayed for strength, and I prayed for Chris Eubank. I knew he was suffering. If you've got a heart - and he has - you can never be the same after something like this happens. I didn't feel any anger toward him because it could have happened either way. You have to let bygones be bygones. Getting angry won't correct the past."

"Instead, I knew I had to concentrate on the future and look to starting a new life. If I had animosity about what Chris had done to me, I'd be breaking myself down mentally as well as physically. How could I then move on?

"Instead I became closer to God and found inner peace and strength. I needed to be still for a time. Now I feel brand new. I love the way I am because I've got a lot of love in my heart. I feel even better than I did before."

The trial continues.

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