Two teenage burglars picked on the wrong man when they tried to break into 77-year-old Michael Mather’s house.
For the father of two is an ex-boxer who once sparred with Sir Henry Cooper and the Kray Twins.
The yobs, aged 17 and 18 and wearing hoodies, attacked him with a lump of wood as he loaded his car outside his home.
Then, as blood began pouring down his face, they tried to force their way into his home.
But then his years of boxing training kicked in.
Enraged at the suddenness of the attack, Mr Mather punched one of the youths in the upper stomach with his left hand and followed this with a right hook to the boy's face - breaking his nose.
The startled pair then fled down the street in Clayhall, Essex.
Mr Mather, who had been on his way to referee an under-tens' soccer match in Collier Row, near Romford, said today: "I feel guilty for breaking his nose."
The incident began as he loaded referee equipment into his car on May 8.
The boys approached him and one of them asked if they could use his toilet.
When he said it was out of order, they insisted they should be allowed inside. Then, as he turned his back, he came under attack.
He said : "One of the boys walloped me on the head with a two-foot log and it started bleeding.
"I was so angry, I swore at them and told them I was going to kill them."
Moments later, after he had struck the two blows, the pair ran off.
"I assume it was the sight of me with blood over my face which was so thick. I could not see through my glasses," he said.
Mr Mather had to go to hospital, where he received stitches for a head wound.
"All I could think about was getting to the football match as I didn't want to let the boys down," he added.
A police spokesman said: "We are appealing for witnesses to this incident.
"Mr Mather appears to have acted very bravely after he was subjected to quite a nasty attack."
