Boxer Aquino Seized After Bout on L.A. Warrant

Former boxing champion Lupe Aquino lost a junior middleweight title fight--and his freedom--Thursday night as police arrested him at ringside after the bout on charges involving a Los Angeles traffic accident.

Aquino showed up for the fight, despite an arrest warrant issued after he skipped a Los Angeles Municipal Court appearance on two counts of vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving.

Aquino lost the fight for the World Boxing Organization junior middleweight crown to John David Jackson when he failed to answer the eighth round bell at Cobo Arena. Detroit police took him to headquarters, where he was jailed pending a hearing this morning, Police Investigator Richard Vauris said.

“The fight I was fighting was outside of the ring,” Aquino said before his arrest. “I was never into the fight. My mind was never on Jackson.

“I was shocked when I found out they would let me fight,” said Aquino behind dark glasses that hid his swollen left eye. “I really feel bad about what happened. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

A bench warrant for Aquino’s arrest was issued by Los Angeles Municipal Judge Rosemary Shumsky after he missed his preliminary hearing Wednesday. Shumsky also set bail at $100,000.

Aquino, 25, a native of Mexico who lives in Santa Paula, faces two counts each of vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving in an Aug. 14 accident.

Aquino was charged by the district attorney’s office in the deaths of Teresa Bello, 20, and Howard Thomas, 25. He was at the wheel when his car went out of control and flipped over, killing the two.

“It’s hard to put aside. I always think about it (the accident),” Aquino told the Detroit Free Press. “All I can say is it wasn’t my fault. . . . I’m innocent. The car rolled over.”

“When you see how upset the families (of the victims) are, it’s indefensible,” Deputy Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Simon Hiller said of the missed hearing.