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Lawyer For Boxer Spadafora Expects Charges To Be Resolved

PITTSBURGH (AP) - An attorney for a former lightweight boxing champ accused of stabbing his brother, kicking his mother and threatening police said Wednesday that he expects the charges will eventually be resolved.

A preliminary hearing for Paul Spadafora was delayed until Jan. 12 because the boxer's mother, Ann, was undergoing treatment and unable available to testify, said defense attorney William Difenderfer.

Difenderfer didn't directly address the charges, which include aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.

"Obviously, I think he's got some issues, but I think he's going to be OK," Difenderfer said.

Spadafora's brother, Charles Marsico, told police the boxer stabbed him in the thigh Dec. 21. Ann Spadafora told police her son had come home high and began arguing with his brother.

Officers found cookie utensils and broken ceramic items on the front lawn and contend the boxer "assumed a fighting stance" when police arrived. Spadafora, 41, told his mother he was "gonna kill" the officers, police said. Officers subdued Spadafora with a stun gun and put a mask on him after he spat at one officer, telling police, "Good, that (officer) got AIDS now," police said in their complaint.

Spadafora won the vacant International Boxing Federation lightweight belt in 1999 when he was 23 but surrendered the title after he was charged with shooting his girlfriend in 2003. He spent 13 months in a state prison boot camp for that offense and has since had a series of run-ins with the law - most while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Spadafora pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 2012. Last year, he was charged with assaulting two women in April - one in a bar, the other in a convenience store.

Both cases were resolved when Spadafora pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct and was fined.

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(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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