His dream of boxing in the Olympics over, Blaise Soares works out
in Waianae Gym for his first professional fight.
Photoby Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin

For more than a decade, the talented boxer from Waianae wondered what it would feel like to have an Olympic gold medal draped around his neck.

His dream wasn't that far-fetched, when considering that in May of 1994, Soares was the No. 3-ranked welterweight nationally in United States Amateur Boxing.

But after the referee raised the hand of some fighter from Cincinnati in the second round of the U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships last February in Colorado Springs, Colo., Soares needed some time to clear his head.

"At first, I couldn't believe it was over," the soft-spoken Soares said last week after being approved to fight on the undercard of tomorrow's Jesus Salud-Michael Galatti bout at Blaisdell Arena.

"My main goal was to make the U.S. Olympic team," he said. "When that was over, it took me some time to figure out what I wanted to do next.

"There was nothing left for me to do at the amateur level, so I decided to turn pro. I'm disappointed I didn't make the Olympic team, but that's all over now."

Soares finished his distinguished amateur career with a 65-12 record. As an 18-year-old, he became Hawaii's first American Boxing Federation national champion.

He thought he was headed to Northern Michigan University on a boxing scholarship, but after that fell through, he spent a year in Las Vegas sparring with some of the best in the business, including James Crayton, Skipper Kelp and Alexis Arguello.

"I needed to make that move because I was too inactive over here," Soares said. "I actually thought about turning pro when I was 18, but I still wanted to be an Olympic fighter more.

"Nobody wanted to fight me here, so I didn't stay sharp enough to compete at the next level. I was still aiming to be on the team, but because of my inactivity, I knew it would be hard.

"Now that I'm turning pro, I'm not sure if I'm going to stay here or move back to the mainland."

Three local boxing managers are trying to get Soares in their corner. He and amateur Dustin Kim are arguably the best local fighters since Salud left Nanakuli nearly 10 years ago.

Soares begins his professional career against a journeyman boxer named George Crawford, who is 5-9-1. He is expected to give Soares the kind of fight he needs.

It's scheduled for four rounds. The maximum weight for the bout is 157 pounds, but Soares said he plans to compete at 147.

"I believe the experience I had in Las Vegas will help me at the next level," Soares said. "I also have a couple of people there who are looking to manage me.

"But it's tough to trust people in this business. I want to find somebody I can feel comfortable with, who will give me the exposure I need."

Current state boxing commissioner and former local USA Boxing president Eiichi Jumawan believes Soares has the right stuff to make it at the next level.

After the commission approved Soares' first professional fight, Jumawan praised the local product.

"He's one of the best young fighters Hawaii has to offer," Jumawan said. "I look forward to seeing him in the ring. He can hurt you with either hand."

Soares also can hurt you with his feet. Because he didn't have much of anything else to do, he decided to take part in the Dennis Alexio kickboxing card nearly three weeks ago.

He won with a second-round TKO, but quickly learned it wasn't what he wanted to do for a living.

"I did that just to keep active," Soares said. "It was good fun. I trained hard for three weeks with my legs. I could barely lift them.

"To me, it was easier than boxing, but kind of confusing. You've got to watch for four things coming at you, instead of two. It takes a lot out of you because you're using your whole body.

"But I knew I was going to stick with boxing. I'm looking forward to fighting on the same card as Jesus Salud. Hopefully, one day I can have the same kind of success he has had in the ring."