Paul Bostajian eager to take a bite out his Champions for Charity challenge
By Jeff Hicks
CAMBRIDGE —
There’s a shark circling in the water.
Welcome to the predatory jaws of Paul Bostajian’s aquatic nightmare.
The self-described “adrenaline junkie” — one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions for Charity taking a first crack at boxing to raise money for MacKids — is swimming in an imaginary ocean.
Not cat skiing off a cliff into untouched Monashee Mountains powder. Not plummeting to the Arizona desert in exhilarating skydiving free fall. Not biking down Indiana hills at 70 km-an-hour, balanced on slender tires and an insatiable appetite for speed.
The father-of-three, Iron Man enthusiast and vice-president of Grandview Homes has done all that. 
But swim with sharks? Never. Only in his darkest bucket-list dreams.
“My biggest fear in my life is swimming in the ocean and there is a shark,” said the Dubai-born Bostajian, who is drawn to daunting challenges.
“One of the first things I want to do is get on a charter and go swim with sharks. That’s kind of how my philosophy of life works. If you don’t like it, if you don’t feel comfortable with it — do it.”
Which brings us to boxing — and signing up for Champions for Charity after some Christmas party prodding from one of last year’s Champs, Harmony Voisin.
“I don’t know if I like it,” said Bostajian of his first foray into the sweet science. “I’m not comfortable with it. That’s part of the reason I decided to do it.”
Bostajian, who is fiercely proud of his family’s Armenian heritage, isn’t comfortable with fundraising either. But he surged out to the fundraising lead with more $40,000 for the Champion’s for Charity Cause.
He’s never had cause, thankfully, to benefit from MacKids personally. But he has friends who are grateful for the hospital’s expertise and services.
Now, for the first time his life, he is prepared to punch someone in the face. His fiancee Crystal and his kids — Garo, Jeano and Jayla — will be rooting him on. He’ll get punched in the face too.
Ten fights will unfold as 20 community leaders gather April 24 at Tapestry Hall in Cambridge.
April 24 has always been a difficult day for Bostajian — Remembrance Day for the Armenian Genocide, which is officially recognized in Canada.
Bastajian will carry more than a century of sorrow into the ring. Each punch will be packed with defiance and determination to survive the worst wallops humanity can endure.
There will be an Armenian shark — a shnadzuk — lurking in the water in the 4th edition of Champions for Charity, which has raised over a million dollars for MacKids. For three rounds, Bostajian will be in a 20-by-20 ring, not a steel cage.
Bostajian, soon to be 40, is on the Red Team. His opponent, fin up and sniffing for blood, is on the Blue Team. The ominous John Williams’ music is getting louder.
Maybe he’ll need a bigger boat. Bostajian will never have a bigger bout.
“Never let your fears hold you back.”
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