A former Coventry boxer turned to drink and shoplifting after his career came to an end last year, a court has heard.
Richard Evatt yesterday pleaded guilty to theft after taking 23 cans of impulse body spray from the shelves of the Savers store in Coventry on November 26 last year.
He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs by Coventry Magistrates.
The court heard 31-year-old Evatt, once known as 'The Tiger', had been drinking heavily following doctor's orders to quit boxing after irregularities were found on a brain scan.
Evatt said he could not remember the incident but pleaded guilty after seeing pictures of himself in the store taken from CCTV video.
The store detective had been watching Evatt and approached him after he left the shop without paying. He handed back the deodorant but returned to the store three hours later and was again seen taking items off the shelves.
Evatt was later recognised on the CCTV footage by a police officer who had once seen him fight in the ring. Iain Willis, defending, said: "Mr Evatt didn't think he had committed the offence. He really didn't know."
Speaking after the hearing, Evatt said he had stopped drinking and was trying to get his career back on track. He said he was hopeful of getting back in the boxing ring by September.
Last month Evatt was found not guilty at Coventry Crown Court of assaulting an off-duty police officer in January.
Richard Evatt off the rails...
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Eric the Viking
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