Luis Tapia stands with a heavy bag in front of photos of boxers, including slaying victim Vincent Ekeoba Moses, on Tuesday at Johnny Tocco's Boxing Gym at 11 W. Charleston Blvd. Michael Chambliss told police he stabbed Moses in self-defense. Photo by Craig L. Moran. Vincent Ekeoba Moses is shown in a copy of a photo displayed at Johnny Tocco's Boxing Gym. Moses, 26, died Thursday, a day after being stabbed at a 7-Eleven on Torrey Pines Drive near Charleston Boulevard. Michael Chambliss, 51, is charged with murder.

For eight years, Luis Tapia taught Vincent Ekeoba Moses how to fight in a boxing ring, where referees enforce the rules and protect combatants.

Tapia advised his protege, a 160-pound pro pugilist from Nigeria, to use a dramatically different approach for a confrontation in the street.

"If you have a fight, just walk away," Tapia, a trainer at Johnny Tocco's Boxing Gym, recalls saying. "It's better to be a coward walking than a brave man dying."

But 26-year-old Moses died at University Medical Center on Thursday, a day after he was stabbed repeatedly in the chest by a 19-year Las Vegas city employee who has served on several civic boards and has ties to politicians.

Michael Chambliss, 51, told police he stabbed Moses in self-defense at the 7-Eleven on Torrey Pines Drive near Charleston Boulevard. But police say the videotape from the store security camera shows that Moses did not attack Chambliss.

Chambliss also told police he tried to stop Moses' bleeding by applying pressure to his wounds, but police say the video doesn't show that either.

"At no time does Chambliss apply any pressure to any of Mr. Ekeoba's wounds," an officer wrote in the arrest report. "In fact, after Mr. Ekeoba fell to the floor, Chambliss picked what detectives believed to be his phone, off the floor, and washed his hands."

Jealousy apparently started the fight. Moses worked at the store and had been involved in a romantic relationship with the store's owner, Jocelyn Nixon, according to a Las Vegas police arrest report filed in Clark County Justice Court.

Moses was off-duty on Nov. 9, but was inside the store and watched as Chambliss entered the store and hugged Nixon. Nixon handed Chambliss some business documents, police said.

Moses stood up and asked Nixon about the nature of her relationship with Chambliss, police wrote in the report, quoting Chambliss' version of events.

"Chambliss said the male was getting incensed," a police investigator wrote. "Miss Nixon told (Moses) they were friends."

Moses began questioning Chambliss about the relationship, police said, but Chambliss did not answer Moses' questions. Chambliss, who is married, later told police he and Nixon had a romantic relationship years ago and remained friends.

The surveillance camera recorded Moses striking Nixon in the head with an open right hand, knocking the hat off her head, according to the police report. Chambliss grabbed Moses, who then shoved him. From there, Chambliss pushed Moses back and began stabbing him six or more times in the chest, police said.

"Chambliss said he didn't think the knife was open and locked when it was in his pocket, and he doesn't remember opening the knife," the arrest report read, quoting the suspect. "Chambliss said the way he cut (Mr. Moses) was by swinging the knife, not stabbing down like he was trying to kill someone. He felt he was just trying to get the male off of him.''

It was unclear from the police report whether Chambliss was aware of Moses' boxing credentials, which included a pro record of 4 wins and 16 losses.

Chambliss, who refused to comment Tuesday, was in the Clark County Detention Center charged with murder. He has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday morning.

A native of Alabama, Chambliss came to Las Vegas when his uncle, former County Commissioner William Pearson, helped him get a job. Chambliss worked for Las Vegas Neighborhood Services and was a paid political consultant who managed County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates' 2004 campaign. He is also the founder of Fighting AIDS in Our Community Today, a nonprofit group that targets its services to black communities.

Nixon is listed as the organization's secretary on a 2001 tax form filed by the organization.

Moses came to the United States in the mid-1990s. A heavy-handed puncher, he nicknamed himself "The Bible" and sparred with everyone from former cruiserweight champion Vassily Jirov to the man who is widely considered the world's top boxer pound-for-pound, Floyd Mayweather Jr.

More often than not, however, Moses' only half-dedicated himself to the grueling rigors of boxing, his trainer said. Often, Moses trained only a few times a month, or perhaps a week or two in advance of a fight.

"People die and you hear people all the time say (insincerely), 'Oh, he was such a nice person.' They don't want to say anything bad about them," Tapia said. "But the truth is, I don't have nothing bad to say about him. He was a very correct person. He was a lazy boxer, but a very nice person."

Marcus Ritz, a former sparring partner of Moses and friend, said Moses was always smiling and joking, even in the gym.

"He came to my Christmas party with a suit on, just real respectful. Everybody else wore casual," Ritz said. "He never had the ... total ambition to box. He was just too nice, just too kind-hearted."

Since word of Moses' death, normally intense workouts at Johnny Tocco's gym seem more subdued, Tapia said. Fighters who should be training spend lots of time standing around and talking about Moses' colorful character.

Late Tuesday evening, while some fighters sparred and others hit the heavy bag inside the gym, Tapia glanced at a photo of Moses posing with former heavyweight boxing champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. Then the grizzled boxing veteran again repeated the wisdom of his experience.

"A fight on the street is a no-win situation," Tapia said. "Everybody loses. ... I'm a professional fighter. If somebody started pushing me around, I'd call the cops. That is what the cops are for. You can't just go around stabbing people."