GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador – Former boxer Jaime Quiñonez was murdered at a restaurant in Quito, Ecuadorian police said Sunday.

The 38-year-old Quiñonez, known as “La Bestia,” was killed on Saturday night, a police spokesman said.

Quiñonez was killed by two gunmen around 7:10 p.m., police spokesman Capt. Alex Romero said.

One gunshot hit the former boxer in the head, Romero said, adding that the assailants fled the scene.

At least four shots were fired at Quiñonez, who was a regular at the restaurant, an eyewitness said.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder, Romero said.

“They are going to be taken before a judge and the responsible authorities, and they will determine their responsibility,” the police spokesman said.

Investigators found traces of two shots in the front of the restaurant and took statements from the waiters and cooks.

Quiñonez successfully defended the inter-American heavyweight title of the International Boxing Federation in 1997 by knocking out American Willie “Dragon” Drive.