Robbery suspect beaten by store clerk who boxes

PITTSBURGH — A would-be robbery suspect was beaten up when he found out the hard way that a convenience store clerk on the University of Pittsburgh campus is also a former Golden Gloves boxing champ.

The boxer, Eric Sydnor, told KDKA-TV he just did what he had to do when 45-year-old Leverett Johnson walked into the convenience store with a gun Saturday night.

“He got slammed,” Sydnor told the station.

Johnson was still in the hospital Tuesday, recovering from the beating Sydnor administered, police said.

Johnson, of Pittsburgh, has been charged with robbery, aggravated assault and criminal mischief. Online court records on Tuesday showed he faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 15, but did not yet have a defense attorney.

Sydnor was the Western Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion two years ago and still boxes out of a gym in nearby Sharpsburg, said Jose Caraballo, a pro boxer who trains Sydnor.

Caraballo told The Associated Press that Sydnor injured a tendon in his hand during the incident, and that Johnson bit Sydnor. He’s hoping the injury doesn’t delay Sydnor’s training.

Sydnor said while his boxing skills came in handy, his decision to stop the robbery was about something more important.

“The fact that I’m a boxer had nothing to do with anything,” Sydnor told KDKA. “It’s just what’s right and what’s wrong.”