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American gets life sentence for murder of Nigerian boxer Isaiah Olugbemi

A Maryland court has sentenced a 37-year-old man, Nicholas Francis Giroux, to life in prison plus 20 years for the brutal killing of rising Nigerian boxer, Isaiah Olugbemi, in 2024.

Giroux, from Odenton, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2025 and was handed the maximum sentence on August 26, 2025.

“This was a cruel and senseless murder that took the life of someone with great promise,” Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said after the sentencing. “The callousness and lack of remorse on the part of this defendant is really disturbing. He deserves this sentence. And to the family and friends of Mr. Olugbemi, I hope today provides some sense of justice.”

Olugbemi, 27, was shot multiple times on June 17, 2024, in the 500 block of Meadowmist Way, Odenton. Surveillance footage showed Giroux firing repeatedly until the boxer collapsed, then shooting him three more times.

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Two weeks earlier, police said Giroux had confronted Olugbemi and a neighbor during a backyard cookout, brandishing a gun. Although no arrest was made then, Giroux later confessed to the killing during questioning.

Olugbemi, a father and standout amateur fighter, was on the cusp of going professional. He had recently won the National Golden Gloves Championship in Washington, D.C., and another amateur bout just a week before his death.

“The last text I sent him was right after he won that fight,” said the deceased's coach, Jim Hook. “I told him, ‘I’m so proud of you, you accomplished your dreams, man.’”

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