Man's punches shark, shark retreats

KILAUEA, Hawaii, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A Hawaii surfer who was attacked by a shark said the encounter ended when he managed to punch the carnivorous fish in the eye.

Jeff Horton, 25, said he was sitting on his surfboard off Pila'a Beach, near Kilauea, Sunday morning when he spotted an object coming toward him at a high speed and moved his left leg out of the way, The Garden Island, Lihue, Hawaii, reported Wednesday.

Horton said the tiger shark chomped down on his board, starting a struggle.

"I started punching as hard as I could," he said.

Horton, a former boxer, said the shark fled after he landed a sharp punch in the predator's eye.

"I finally got one nice punch into the eye," he said. "I put some really good hits on it, for sure."

Horton said he returned to the water at the different beach Monday, but he retired his surfboard, which bears the imprint of the shark's jaws.

"I'm going to put it up on my wall," he said.