I remember back in the day my cousin, who went to prison, go into it with this dude at the park. They were going back and forth and the dude did exactly what the old head did and tried to squash it. My cousin swung on him anyway and knocked him out.
We asked him why he snuck the dude when he was trying to peace it up. And he said that he could have been trying to peace it up or he could have been trying to catch him. And that it's better to be wrong about it and peace it up after he wakes up.
Moral of the story: Never let a man that wants to cause you harm get within arms reach of you.