It was showcase night for local boxing talent on Thursday night as Knockout Promotions brought its “Battle at Byblos ” event to a popular Dearborn banquet hall.

Kronk boxer Hassan Bousi, age 18, 152 pounds, poses after defeating Andre Murray on Thursday.

A sellout crowd along with well-known boxing figures like legendary Kronk Gym Detroit owner Emanuel Steward and former “The Contender” boxing contestant Tarick Salmaci took in nine bouts of action on the night at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn.

Six Arab American boxers from Kronk fought on the evening and five of them were victorious by decision, including 17-year-old 132-pounder Fradi Jejad, 11-year-old 93-pounder Gheith Mohammed, 18-year-old 152-pounder Hassan Bousi, 10-year-old 87-pounder Zuhar Hak, and 14-year-old 117-pounder Ahmed Mahmoud.

19-year-old 225-pounder Hassan Hamid lost a close, hard-fought decision to Christopher Cobb that the crowd disagreed with.

Boxer Gheith Mohammed, age 11, celebrates his win on Thursday.

Byblos owner Joe Bazzi said the hall held a similar boxing event last year and plans to host more events in the future. He also thanked promoter Moe Diab of Knockout Promotions for the event.
“It’s a great thing to bring together boxers and fans of all different ethnicities and backgrounds here tonight and Knockout did a tremendous job with a very professional promotion,” he said.

Salmaci, who retired in 2005 after a 13-year boxing career, said he enjoyed watching the fights as well and also said he was excited that Diab planned to hold more events every month to a month and a half or so around Dearborn, which has a strong history of hosting boxing events.