61-Year-Old Canadian Man Gets Into Fistfight With A Black Bear – And Wins!

Bears are pretty scary and I think the moment I encounter one in the woods, I’ll probably freeze to death.

That’s why I truly admire this old man who bravely stood up to a deadly bear, got into a fistfight with the animal, and then scared it away. You bet this guy’s got balls of steel!

Rick Nelson, a 61-year-old man from Canada, was out one day, walking his dog in Sudbury, Ontario. Later on, he took a seat on a log and then found a black bear cub nearby.

Nelson recalled:

“It was so close I could touch it. It let out a yelp, because I scared the heck out of it. I knew right away I was in trouble. It’s calling for mommy.”

And the huge mommy did come shortly thereafter.

Nelson immediately jumped to his feet but when he found no sticks or rocks around him, he thought he’d put his boxing skills to good use against the 320-pound beast.

He shared:

“I knew it would swing first with its left but it would really come with its right, because most bears are right-handed. I had the perfect shot to take. I did an underhand and hit it right in the snout. Believe me, when you’ve got adrenaline pumping, you can hit. Even at 61 with grey hair, you can still hit hard.”

Before the match went on, the cub screeched and started walking away. The mother bear followed it without fighting Nelson again who suffered several scratches on the face and shoulder.

Nelson said:

“[The mother bear] turned around and it was snorting blood. It looked at me, and I thought, ‘Oh no. Here it comes,’ but it just turned back around and walked away like nothing ever happened and followed the cub. So, I really lucked out there.”

He also added:

“Black bears really aren’t dangerous unless you have a cub involved. So sometimes black bears get a really bad rap. Probably they’re more afraid of you and [me], than we are of them. I’m really glad that the bear walked away. And I’m really glad I did too.”