GORDON WILLIAMS, Contributor

Jamaican-born O'neil Bell - file

Jamaican O'Neil Bell, the undisputed world cruiserweight boxing champion who is currently preparing to defend his crown next month, may be fighting for his freedom as well.

The 32-year-old United States-based boxer is reportedly on $50,000 bail after being arrested last weekend when a sparring partner accused him of throwing a hatchet at him during a training run at his camp in Big Bear, California.

Bell, who also goes by the nickname "Supernova", is scheduled to fight Jean-Marc Mormeck in a rematch on March 17 in Paris, France. In January 2006 he knocked out Mormeck in New York to take the Frenchman's World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles. Bell had entered the ring at Madison Square Garden carrying the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt as well.

Deadly weapon

A statement from the San Bernardino County sheriff's department said that Bell was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on Sunday. A spokesperson for the depart-ment said officers responded to a call off a highway and found Larry Slayton, Bell's sparring partner, who claimed to be in danger. The spokesperson said Slayton was suffering from cuts he said he had received while fleeing from Bell, who he also said threw stones at him.

The officers were reportedly informed by Slayton that Bell had become upset and threw a hatchet the Jamaican had taken on the exercise run to ward off bears in the mountainous, bushy area.

Just days prior to the alleged incident Bell, a relatively low profiled boxer despite his immense talent, titles and impressive ring record, appeared calm and gave no indication of being angry with anyone. Family members, who up to yesterday morning had not spoken to Bell and were still awaiting details about the incident, expressed surprise at the reports.

"I was shocked when I heard about it last night," Charles Bell, the boxer's father said from his home in Delaware, U.S.A. "I just don't know what could have triggered it off like that."

The champion, who left his Montego Bay birthplace at age six and has always proudly portrayed himself as a Jamaican, said he had moved from his regular Atlanta, Georgia training base to increase his focus on the Mormeck fight and had settled in nicely at his new camp.

"It's going well," said a relaxed Bell on Thursday from Big Bear, a training site some 90 miles from Los Angeles which is used by many boxers. "Everything is fine."

He said he only planned to return to Atlanta "for a quick turnaround, maybe a couple days next month to get some stuff" prior to departing for Paris.

It was not immediately clear how the incident with Slayton would affect next month's fight. Attempts to contact Bell yesterday were unsuccessful. He did not return messages left on his cellular telephone or relayed through his father.