Promoter Ahmet Öner shot in Hamburg

German promoter Ahmet Öner of Arena Box survived an apparent attempt on his life at 10:15 local time in Hamburg, Germany on Tuesday night. Öner was ambushed when heading to his car after a meeting. A security light exposed the gunmen, who fired three times at the promoter, striking him once in the leg.

In a press release, Öner said the following:

"I am OK. I have been attacked before but this was the first time somebody cowardly ambushed me in the dark to shoot at me. I hope it will be the last time as well. I know that wherever there is success in the world, there is envy as well. I just cannot understand how somebody could go this far and try to kill me. This is insane."

Ever the promoter, Öner didn't miss the opportunity to promote upcoming events. I'd say he's earned the plug:

"I won't be stopped by a perfidious attack like that. We will continue our work exactly as planned. Our next show will be on September 18th in Spain with Steffen Kretschmann and Mahir Oral, live on Eurosport. On October 10th we will have the big show with Top Rank at the Madison Square Garden and then we will be back in Germany on October 24th. The show must and will go on."

Öner has raised the ire of boxing fans in the past, but he's also done a lot of good things with guys like Yuriorkis Gamboa, and he's shown an uncommon willingness to match hot young fighters fairly aggressively in some instances. Bad Left Hook sends our best wishes to Ahmet for a speedy recovery and return to the sport.