LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Black boxer Carlos Zambrano, the WBA world featherweight champion, claims he was stopped by armed police investigating a laptop theft despite the fact he was pursuing the thieves himself.

“They saw this little black guy at the wheel and then they said the little black guy is the thief,” the 31-year-old told Canal N television in Lima.

The incident took place Wednesday morning when his computer was stolen outside a fast food restaurant in the San Borja area of the Peruvian capital.

“Three policemen stopped me, thinking I was the thief. They drew their weapons and ordered me to get out of my car despite me telling them that I was pursuing the thieves,” added the fighter.

Zambrano described the incident as a “racial issue” because “how is it possible that they could take me for the thief when they saw my car behind?

“When they saw my driving licence and my name, they changed their minds. They said ‘it’s the world champion’. They then let me go.”