Emrick

BUTLER TWP— For the time being, Jim Emrick is known as Butler's

other professional boxer.That suits the 37-year-old heavyweight just fine.Fresh off a knockout just 1:40 into the first round of his pro debut, Emrick is taking on Aaron Harris (1-1) of Cleveland in a four-round bout Sept. 22 in the Iceoplex at Southpointe.Emrick is being trained part time by Tommy Yankello, who also trains top-15 ranked heavyweight Brian Minto of Butler."I give all the credit there to Brian Minto,"Emrick said of Yankello's involvement. "He made all of that happen. I'm learning a little bit at a time."Emrick dabbled in kickboxing earlier and had interest in pro boxing years ago. An accident involving his brother, Rocky, drained that interest from him, however."He was ready to make his kickboxing debut at 16 when he got paralyzed in a motorcycle accident the week before,"Emrick said. "For a long time, I didn't think about boxing after that."But now his 10-year-old sons. Jimmy and Justin, are amateur fighters with a promising future in the sport. They just won three of four fights at a club show in Washington D.C. last week and are nationally ranked.Emrick trains his sons in his own gym and admits he only began his own pro career for their benefit."I want them to understand that I wouldn't ask them to do anything that I'm not willing to do myself,"Emrick said. "You talk to anybody and they think boxing is a brutal sport."Amateur boxing is extremely safe. ... There's fewer injuries there than in soccer. Pro boxing can be brutal, sure. But my boys trust their dad, and now that they're seeing me do it, they trust me even farther."Emrick said his sons were nervous before his pro debut against Billy Greenwalt last month."They weren't afraid I'd get hurt. They just didn't want me to disappoint all of the people who came down (to Chester, W.Va.) to watch me fight,"Emrick said.Yankello described Emrick as a "tough guy who shows potential.""Sure, his age is against him and the guy doesn't have a ton of boxing experience,"Yankello said. "He doesn't have a lot of expectations, but who knows?"Brian didn't turn pro until he was 28 and had no amateur background. Now he's one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world. Nobody would have guessed that."Jim's real interest is in his kids' future in boxing. Seeing their dad fight excites them. He's their inspiration when they see him doing it,"Yankello added.Emrick knows nothing about his upcoming opponent and prefers it that way."At this point, I don't need to," he said. "If we keep going, step up the level of competition and fight somebody with a name, I'll have to learn something about him then."The level I'm at, you go in there on guts and strength and see where it takes you."Harris' last fight — Aug. 4 against Jabir Basit in the latter's pro debut — was ruled a no contest. Harris was stopped by TKOin the first round against Colin Baumgarner (6-0) on April 6.The Sept. 22 fight card is being presented by World Class Fight Promotions and features amateur world champion Juan McPherson, now 7-0 as a pro. Uniontown's Tommy Karpency (6-0) and Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion Mike Strauss also highlight the card.Tickets are $75 for ringside, $50 reserved and $25 general admission. Tickets are available by calling Emrick at 724-496-4158.