Former world boxing champion Masamori Tokuyama was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attacking and injuring two men on a street in Hyogo Prefecture, police said.
The 38-year-old Osaka resident, whose Korean name is Hong Chang Su, has admitted to punching the men in the face several times during the 10-minute altercation that started around 6:15 p.m. Monday in Sanda, Hyogo Prefecture, following a possible traffic incident near a gas station, police said.
Tokuyama, who is now a restaurant owner, punched a 24-year-old man who turned his vehicle in front of the former champion after exiting the gas station.
He also punched a 53-year-old manager of the station, who had been guiding the man's vehicle onto the street.
"I did bad things to them. I was infuriated by the vehicle's sudden appearance and the way the manager directed it," police quoted Tokuyama as saying.
Tokuyama won the WBC super flyweight title in 2000 and successfully defended it eight times. He lost the title in 2004, regained it the following year and defended it once more before retiring in 2007.