A FORMER boxing champ has been cleared of fracturing a man’s skull in a street punch-up.
Ex-All Ireland cruiserweight title holder Harry Cowap denied hitting dentist Adrian Simenon and blamed his friend, former WBO middleweight title challenger and now actor, Gary Stretch.
Cowap, a trade union official, got involved in a row with a group of people near his home in The Avenue, Beckenham.
Debbie Fowell told Croydon Crown Court she crossed the road after Cowap and Mr Stretch got out of a taxi in the early hours of April 26 because she thought one of them, who had a squashed nose "like a boxer", looked scary.
She picked 45-year-old Cowap out in an identity parade after claiming he punched her fiance, Mr Simenon, on the side of the head.
Mr Simenon fell to the floor and suffered serious facial injuries and a double fracture to one leg, the court heard. But Cowap denied the charges and said the blow came from Mr Stretch.
He said Mr Simenon swore at him, adding: "I said to him, 'Calm down, mate'. It was clear he had a problem with the girl." Prosecuting, Alan Baylis suggested Cowap’s reputation was on the line and he was "prepared to go to any lengths to avoid conviction".
Cowap replied: "I only want to tell the truth." Mr Stretch, who flew in from a film shoot in Morocco to give evidence, said Mr Simenon had grabbed Miss Fowell and the couple were arguing.
He added: "Harry did not get into physical contact with the man. I only touched his shoulder when he lunged at Harry. I had no idea anyone got hurt." Cowap’s friends in the public gallery applauded when the jury found him not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.