ULAN BATOR (Kyodo) -- Former Mongolian-born grand champion Asashoryu on Thursday refuted reports of an alleged drunken rampage that preceded his retirement from sumo.

"I didn't commit any violent act," Asashoryu said at a press conference in Ulan Bator, referring to Japanese magazine reports in January that said he became extremely drunk before striking and seriously injuring a man outside a nightclub in Tokyo in the early hours of Jan. 16.