Robert Easter Jr: Lightweight boxing champion in hospital after being shot by robbers

It is the latest in a spate of robbery attempts and violent attacks against celebrities

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Former lightweight boxing champion Robert Easter Jr is in hospital after being shot by a robber on Sunday night, according to reports.

Police in Cincinnati, Ohio said that Mr Easter, 31, was approached just before 7pm after being approached from behind by a man who demanded his jewellery and then shot him multiple times when he tried to run.

The robber escaped with two gold chains, three diamond rings, and Mr Easter’s mobile phone, police said. No suspect has yet been named.

Mr Easter held the International Boxing Federation’s world lightweight champion title between 2016 and 2018, and was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio.

The boxer had been training to return to competition in the first quarter of 2022, according to Boxing Scene, having not fought since his victory over Ryan Martin in Connecticut last February.

WTOL 1, a local TV news station, reported that Mr Easter is undergoing surgery to remove bullet fragments, but is expected to survive.

It is the latest in a spate of recent robbery attempts and violent attacks against celebrities, including music TV host Terrence Jenkins, known popularly as Terrence J, and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley.

In December, Los Angeles philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, the wife of legendary music industry boss Clarence Avant, was shot dead during a robbery at their home in Beverley Hills.

In January, criminals raided the Los Angeles area home of actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli while they were out, making off with jewellery worth $1m (£740,000).