Boxer Charles Martin thought he would bleed to death after being shot in the arm in Los Angeles just months after Anthony Joshua defeat

AMERICAN heavyweight Charles Martin thought he was going to “bleed to death” after being shot in the forearm.

He suffered the first defeat of his pro career in April when Anthony Joshua KO’d him in two rounds to win the IBF title.

But taking a bullet in the early hours of Tuesday morning put the pain of his short reign as world champion into perspective.

He said: “I looked down, and saw a pool of blood. I said to myself, ‘I gotta get outta here. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna bleed to death’.

“I have to pay respect to the cops. They saved my life.”

A passenger in Martin’s car told LAPD officers they were in downtown LA when two men approached the vehicle and got into an argument with the boxer.

According to the police report, the men started shooting, but missed and fled.

Martin allegedly chased the attackers before crashing into a utility pole, at which point the suspects returned and opened fire again.

He took a bullet to the forearm and was taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery, after police officers arrived at the scene.

In contrast to his passenger’s version of events, ‘Prince Charles’ claims he was trying to get away from the gunmen and not pursuing them when he crashed.

Martin, 30, won the vacant IBF title against Vyacheslav Glazkov in January, only to drop it to Joshua just under three months later at London’s O2 Arena.

The southpaw arrived in Britain proudly showing off his crown, but left with his tail between his legs after being pummelled and dethroned by undefeated AJ.