NEWBURGH – The complex relationship between Newburgh boxer Marquise Williams and his trainer and former guardian Leonard Lee went from triumph to tragedy in short order.

Williams and Lee had a heated argument in the office of the Newburgh Hook Elite Boxing Club late Thursday afternoon that resulted in the 19-year-old Williams punching the 58-year-old Lee twice in the left eye, Lee said. According to Lee, Williams claims it was self-defense. Lee calls that charge absurd. Williams departed the club after City of Newburgh police were phoned and Lee had to be taken by ambulance to nearby St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital.

Representatives of Williams reached out to Lee Thursday night to ask that he drop any charges against Williams. Lee initially resisted but later changed his tune after speaking with his wife, Diane.

“Just let him go,’’ said Lee, who runs the Hook Elite Boxing Club located at Delano-Hitch Stadium in Newburgh. He wishes Williams well in his future boxing pursuits but wants nothing more to do with him. Williams (36-3) won a New York Daily News Golden Gloves semifinal bout on Wednesday night at Newburgh Free Academy and will fight for the title in late April at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Williams texted the Times Herald-Record on Friday evening that he would discuss the incident, but had not responded by press time.

“I am upset with him, I am mad with him, but I still want to see him make it,’’ Lee said. “I don’t want to see him turn into another Mike Tyson and end up in prison while he’s trying to win championships … no, I don’t want to see that. But what I am hoping for the kid is that he wakes up.’’

It all started on Wednesday night. The pair had spent the day together prior to Williams’ heavyweight bout. Shortly after arriving to the fight, Lee was surprised when told he would not be working the corner, with those tasks handled by Williams’ manager, Pat Zagarino, and trainer, Mike Murphy, from the Atlantic Veterans Memorial Boxing Club on Long Island, where Williams trained for much of 2016.

“I felt betrayed,’’ Lee said. “I was hurt and I was disappointed.’’

Lee has been coaching Williams for the better part of the last seven years, and even served as his legal guardian for about a year. During the fight, Lee was relegated to shouting coaching tips while moving behind the ring officials.

The New York Golden Gloves is considered the most prestigious amateur tournament in the country, and the winners receive automatic berths to nationals.

Williams arrived to the gym at his usual 4:30 p.m. training time on Thursday. Lee had been stewing all day about why Williams went with Zagarino and Murphy in his corner, and why he fought under the Atlantic Veterans banner instead of Newburgh Hook Elite, which happened to be sponsoring the Golden Gloves card. Earlier in the day, Lee had spoken by phone with Williams’ mother and told her, “I think I am going to let Marquise go.’’

Lee expressed he thought Williams actually lost the fight, based on the scoring methods used in amateur boxing, a notion that angered the fighter. According to Lee, heated words were exchanged and the pair ended up face to face in the small office cluttered with furniture. Williams stuck his fingers in Lee’s face and the coach responded by pushing the boxer. Lee said he took a step back and toppled over a blue swivel chair, and Williams then hit him with two punches to the eye. Lee said there were witnesses, including a couple young boxers whom Lee trains.

“When I fell over the chair, he reached over and pow … pow,’’ Lee described the scene.

“We have gotten into so many bad arguments, I mean, really bad arguments,’’ Lee said. “I would have never thought he would do that. … Never.’’

Williams posted news of the incident on his Facebook account.

“He’s telling everybody that I attacked him and he had to defend himself,’’ Lee said. “Anybody that knows me knows that didn’t happen.’’

A sign taped to the door of the Hook Elite club on Friday afternoon read the facility was closed until further notice, but that was still hanging from the day prior as Lee went to hospital. After a knock, Lee opened the door. His left eye was still swollen shut nearly 24 hours after the incident, and Lee donned a pair of sunglasses to disguise the injury.

Williams’ locker was empty, but Lee was still proud to point out the framed Sunday Times Herald-Record feature article about the pair hanging on the wall overlooking the training ring. Lee, an ex-convict turned deacon at a local Baptist church, wants to put the incident behind him.

“I’m apologizing to my kids and the parents for even letting it get that far,’’ he said, “because I’m the adult here and he’s the child. I’m the deacon here, he’s the member. How did I let it get to that point, do you know what I am saying? I got upset. I am a human like anybody else.’’

It is unclear what legal ramifications are in line for Williams, who has a juvenile criminal record and may be on felony probation for past offenses, according to people close to him.

“You know what my hope is?’’ Lee said of Williams. “It’s to see him change. My hope is to see Newburgh get a true champion for once, (who) originated from Newburgh Hook Elite boxing. My hope is to see this kid become a better person.

“Maybe this gives him enough to do that; this might scare him enough to do that,’’ Lee added.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR