Jamaican-born O'Neil Bell raises his fist after knocking out Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in the tenth round of their undisputed cruiserweight boxing championship bout at Madison Square Garden in January. - Reuters

BIG BEAR CITY, California (CMC):

JAMAICA'S WORLD cruiserweight boxing champion, O'Neil Bell, has been arrested after an alleged assault on a training partner.

Police say Bell's sparring partner, Larry Slayton, claimed Bell attacked him with a hatchet and threw rocks at him following a conflict during a roadwork running session.

The 32-year-old Bell, who became the undisputed world cruiserweight champion when he defeated Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck 13 months ago, has been charged with assault using a deadly weapon. Police laid the charges based on both the alleged victim's claims and evidence at the scene. Bell, who later posted bail in the amount of US$50,000, has been training in Big Bear for a March 17 rematch with Mormeck in Paris.

Slayton, 37, helping Bell train for his bout with Mormeck, told the police that Bell became angry with him during a workout session in the woods and threw a hatchet at him. At that point Slayton said he ran as Bell allegedly began to pelt him with large rocks.

Titles

Bell, who holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) belts for the 200-pound weight division, was carrying the hatchet for protection against bears.

Arden Wiltshire, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, said that deputies found Slayton with cuts from running through the brush and "fearful for his life". Bell knocked out Mormeck last January to become the first unified - WBC, WBA and International Boxing Federation (IBF) - cruiserweight champ since Evander Holyfield did it in 1988. With a ring record of 26 wins (24 knockouts) against one loss and one draw, Bell has not fought since beating Mormeck for the undisputed title and was stripped of the IBF belt for failure to defend the crown.

Mormeck has 32 wins (22 knockouts) against three defeats and since his loss to Bell, has had one outing, defeating Sebastien Hill on a fourth-round knockout in St Louis, U.S.