Amateur boxer fights off 3 armed thugs trying to steal his Rolex in brazen daylight assault in California

An amateur boxer beat down three armed thugs who tried to rob him of his Rolex watch outside of the gym he owns in California.

Surveillance video captured the Tuesday attack on Rocco DiStefano, the owner and founder of the Lab Sunset Athletic Club, on the famous Sunset strip in West Hollywood.

The video shows three masked men hop out of a black Cadillac and rush towards DiStefano who is walking his dog, Hercules.

"I turned around, and I'm looking down the barrel of the pistol," DiStefano said to KTTV-TV. "They're yelling, ‘Take it off, take it off,’ and at this point, I try to run and I realize I'm running into a corner."

One of the assailants punches him in the face multiple times while another holds a gun to his head.

"The only thing I can think to take off, I'm looking at my Rolex. So I take off my Rolex and I clasp it in my hands and I tell them ‘You’re going to have to take it from me,'" said DiStefano.

"I just saw my life flash before my eyes"

Video did not capture DiStefano fighting back. He said that he "was able to tackle the guy in the gray hoodie that's hitting me from behind into the person with the gun, and when I hit him with the gun, both of them fell down."

The assailants were unable to steal the Rolex and decided to run away. DiStefano can be seen rushing to a nearby spa business to seek help.

"It was just a rush of adrenaline and I just saw my life flash before my eyes, and it’s making me very grateful to be alive," he added.

Police said no one had been arrested yet, but they are investigating the matter. They added that a similar robbery just 15 minutes before this incident might be connected. They are asking for help from the public to help identify the men.

DiStefano said the Rolex watch was a symbol of how much work he put into being successful. He said he's keeping it in a safe from now on.

"I was prepared in a physical sense and in a mental sense from my upbringing for sure," he laughed.

DiStefano's dog Hercules was not harmed during the incident.

Here's more about the incident:

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