When you get wrapped up in so many sordid sports stories, real important stuff sometimes slips through the cracks - such as the the tale of a retired female boxer beating up a burglar with an ice scraper.

KCRG-TV shares the story of Derdre Rodriguez, a 37-year-old Iowan who was previously a professional pugilist. One day last April, Derdre returned to her Cedar Rapids home for lunch, when she found an unwelcome visitor trying to take off with her family’s belongings.

That’s when the fun began.

Rodriguez saw 16-year-old Jake Merfeld crawling out of her son’s bedroom window, when she began to give chase to the burglar. During the pursuit, she grabbed the nearest weapon she could find - an ice scraper:

“I was so angry. I wanted to throw something at him and when I grabbed this, I just kept it in my hand and when he went over the fence, I just went over after him.”

She says the burglar broke part of the fence on his way over and landed in the neighbors’ yard. That gave her a chance to catch up. She jumped the fence herself, dialed 911, and chased him down the block still clutching the ice chipper in her hand.

“Gave him one swat with this to the head and he pretty much stayed down after that.”

Rodriguez dragged the burglar back to her house, forcing him to pick up a Playstation 3, a PSP, cell phones and video games — the stolen items he dropped along the way.

Police arrived at Rodriguez’s house minutes later, to find the burglar lying on the floor, with Derdre holding him at bay with the scraper. Merfeld was led off to the Linn County Detention Center to be treated for head injuries & charged with second-degree burglary.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez said she was going to invest in an alarm system for her house. Based on her amazing actions, Derdre’s probably the only protection her place really needs.

In fact, maybe she should consider renting herself out as home security. We’d definitely hire her.