Former world champion boxer gunned down

A former world boxing champion has been murdered in a gangland-style shooting in an exclusive Amsterdam district.

Nordin Ben Salah, 32, known in the ring as Fighting Nordin, was gunned down by at least two assailants who escaped.

The shooting was similar to a string of killings of reputed crime bosses over the last few years.

A police spokesman said Morocco born Ben Salah was “known to the police” but declined to comment on the possibility of a gang-related killing.

Ben Salah’s co-manager, Henk Ruhling, said he believed police suspected the fighter of being involved in drugs.

A super middleweight, he compiled a 36-2-1 record, with 26 knockouts. He lost his title as WBA Intercontinental champion to Argentinian Francisco Mora in March 2003 but won it back in a rematch six months later. At the time of his death, he was ninth in the WBA’s ranking of super middleweights.