Eliase Bouloubassi will have a shot at being a hero on Pearl Harbor Day. Currently serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Bouloubassi ? or “Bull” to his friends ? will be making his professional boxing debut tonight at the Pikesville Armory. He?ll face Chris Cook in a four-round, 165-pound bout.
Bouloubassi, a 26-year-old Baltimore native, is expecting a strong group of veterans, family and current enlisted men to come out and support him for his first pro-bout.
“It means a lot to me being on Pearl Harbor Day,” Bouloubassi said. “I?ve got a lot of Marines coming down from Quantico. All the vets are coming ? VFW, different things like that ? and I get to dedicate this to them.”
There?s no one better to represent the local serving men and women in the ring at Pikesville than Bouloubassi, according to Maryland Boxing Hall of Fame member Jake “The Snake” Smith.
“He?s a class-act kid. He?s got respect,” Smith said. “[He?s] very disciplined in the game. He?s a family man, got three kids and goes to church every Sunday, and he doesn?t even cuss. He?s the all-American boy.”
After Bouloubassi?s bout, tonight?s card features many more intriguing local fighters. One of the hottest young boxers in the area, Jessie Nicklow (7-0, 2 KOs), will be matched up against Jason Champion (3-1, 2 KOs) from Washington, D.C., in a six-round, 154-pound fight. Champion defeated Nicklow in an earlier amateur bout.
The other headline fight will be Baltimore?s JedPhipps (17-5, 2 KOs) vs. Kansas City?s Ralph West (16-9, 13 KOs). Phipps, who has lost two in a row, desperately needs a win. The rest of the card includes Waldorf?s Nick Caroleo (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Robert Evans (0-1), the Eastern Shore?s Henry Mays (5-1, 4 KOs) vs. Raul Williams, Catonsville?s Glenn Williams (3-3-2) vs. Derek Martin (1-0) and Severna Park?s Shelley Sievert and Dale Roboson-El, both former national amateur champions, making their pro debuts at 165 pounds and light heavyweight, respectively.
