Spadafora Pleads Guilty in Shooting.

Former IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and a weapons charge Monday for shooting his girlfriend last year. Prosecutors dropped charges of attempted homicide and reckless endangerment. Spadafora was charged with shooting Nadine Russo in the abdomen on Oct. 26, 2003, because he was upset she had flattened two tires on his sport utility vehicle. The couple has since become engaged and Russo did not comment when leaving court Monday. The two counts to which Spadafora pleaded guilty are felonies. Aggravated assault carries a maximum prison sentence of ten years, while the weapons charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years. Spadafora’s attorney said he expected a sentence of no more than two years, not counting time served. A sentencing date will be set following a pre-sentencing hearing. The troubled fighter was jailed earlier this month after a urine test revealed he had been using cocaine, a violation of his bond. Shortly before his fiancee was shot, he was arrested for urinating on a Pittsburgh street while intoxicated and was later convicted of disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Spadafora is a former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion. He gave up his IBF 135-pound title in 2003 and said he was moving up to junior welterweight, where he could maintain his weight.