Police have issued an arrest warrant for retired boxing champion Vinny Paz after he was accused of attacking and injuring a man he claimed had robbed him.

Providence police said they were called to a house on Rhode Island early on Tuesday. When officers arrived, witnesses told them Paz – whose comeback story after a car crash was dramatised in the 2016 film Bleed For This – had accused the man of stealing 16,000 dollars (£11,700) before allegedly assaulting him.

The man was taken to hospital with injuries including broken teeth, a black eye and bite marks. Witnesses told police that Paz left before police arrived.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Paz on one count of felony assault.

The ex-champion made a series of statements on Twitter and to a local TV station, telling people to “stop” with the nonsense story and defending his actions.

“Bottom line is, I got robbed. And when that happens, you gotta do what you gotta do,” he said in a brief interview with WPRI-TV outside his home in Warwick, before being driven away.

“NO COMMENT !!!!! I’m the bad guy oh really ??? I’m the victim !!! STOP,” he wrote in one Twitter message .

Bleed For This, starring Miles Teller as Paz, tells the story of his return to boxing after breaking his neck in a car crash.