NAZARETH, Pa. -- The baseball bat attack on the son of former heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes and two of the son's friends was the aftermath of an earlier dispute, according to police.

"This was a continuance from a (previous) fight," said Patrolman Russ Easley, the acting supervisor of Nazareth police. "They were coming up here to fight."

Although Larry Holmes Jr., who is black, said his white assailant taunted him with a racial slur before attacking, Easley said police do not believe the attack was racially motivated.

Holmes Sr. told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's furious about what he considers lenient charges against the two men accused of wielding the bat.

"If I (as a pro fighter) threw a punch, it would be assault with a deadly weapon," Holmes said. "Why can't it be an assault with a deadly weapon when you swing a bat?"

Holmes Jr. and friends Jason Black and Sean Burgio were assaulted with a baseball bat in Nazareth on Saturday afternoon. Black and Burgio were both hospitalized; Black has sustained some hearing loss.

Nickoles Lambert, 18, was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Charles Kaufmann, 52, was charged with one count of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct.

Kaufmann was driving by when he saw his son in the midst of a fight, police said.

Larry Holmes Sr. said his son and the two friends were trying to break up the fight involving Kaufmann's son, but were not participating.

Kaufmann got out of his car with an aluminum baseball bat and hit Holmes in the arm, police said.

Holmes Jr. said Kaufmann, who is white, got out of his vehicle and taunted him with a racial slur before hitting him in the arm with the bat. Police said Lambert, who is also white, then picked up the bat and struck both Burgio and Black in the head.