The son of a late heavyweight legend allegedly pummelled a street vendor outside a concert hall.
Adenilson Lima dos Santos works as a security guard.
He is the son of former WBF heavyweight champion Adilson ‘Maguila’ Rodrigues – who battled Evander Holyfield and George Foreman in his career.
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The Brazilian boxer, who also held the South American title for 14 years between 1986 and 2000, passed away on 24 October aged 66.
Adenilson works at the Espaço Unimed concert hall in São Paulo, Brazil.
He is accused of assaulting a street vendor who was operating his cart opposite the concert venue.
He was filmed allegedly attacking the man in the street on the night of Wednesday (Nov 6) night.
The clip shows Adenilson kneeling on top of the victim.
Horrified onlookers plead for the heavyset bouncer to “stop”.
Adenilson’s colleague, named as ‘Carioca’, is seen watching the alleged assault.
The victim, identified as Osvaldo, 41, sells drinks from a cart on the other side of the street to the venue.
He said he was assaulted after he tried to apologise to Carioca over an earlier row.
The victim explained: “Last week, he had told us to stay in a marked area so we could work.
“I had to move my cart about 20 metres away, which was enough for Carioca to kick my cart and insult me.
“We started arguing and he told me not to raise my voice and threatened to beat me up.”
Osvaldo said he wanted to apologise to the security guard to avoid “being branded”.
He stated: “I didn’t want to get into trouble with him so, even though I hadn’t done anything, I decided to apologise.
“He told me he wasn’t going to apologise back and started shouting at me, that’s when Adenilson came over and started attacking me, as shown in the video.
“It was a blessing from God I didn’t die.
“I left my house to provide for my family and I was beaten up, pummelled.
He added: “They tried to kill me.”
According to the victim, Adenilson and Carioca started working at the concert venue three months ago.
He said: “They’re being paid by the music venue to not let us work on the street.
“They oppress the street vendors, they threaten to overturn our carts, they’re causing terror.”
Osvaldo suffered a black eye and needed several stitches to a cut on his forehead.
He told reporters: “I’m beaten up, my head is all bruised, I’m only alive because the crowd pulled him off me.
“I also wear braces so my mouth is all cut up too.”
A concert hall spokesperson said that Adenilson is not employed by them and that all workers have to wear a uniform.
However, local traders insist they are hired by the venue and that they have been tasked with moving them on from the area.
Osvaldo said: “The venue says they don’t work for them, but they do.”
As a form of protest, street vendors are planning to hold a demonstration in front of Espaço Unimed at around 9pm tonight (8 November).
Osvaldo has also filed a complaint against Adenilson with the police.
The accused has yet to respond to the allegations.
Irani Pinheiro, Adenilson’s stepmother and president of the Adilson Maguila Institute, said the family will not comment on the matter at this time.
The investigation into the alleged assault is ongoing.
Adílson ‘Maguila’ Rodrigues only suffered seven defeats in 85 heavyweight bouts during his prestigious boxing career.
He even beat British champion Johnny Nelson twice in August and December 1995.
Of his 77 victories, 61 came by way of knockout.
Rodrigues also fought Heavyweight legends Evander Holyfield and George Foreman in 1989 and 1990 respectively.
He was stopped in Round Two of both bouts.
He had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) since 2013, as reported by Need To Know.
CTE, also known as ‘boxer’s dementia’, is a brain disorder caused by repeated trauma to the head.
He died on 24 October aged 66.
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