Hard work pays off for Chrisjon<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old fighter Christian John, or Chrisjon, recently won
\nan interim World Boxing Association (WBA) title.<\/p>\n
Although he has yet to attain a full championship, Chrisjon
\ndeserves the praise of Indonesia's boxing community for the job
\nhe did in Bali on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n
He has yet to match the achievement of Ellyas Pical, who in
\n1985 captured the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt.<\/p>\n
However, the Bali bout, where Chrisjon scraped out a victory
\nover Colombian Oscar Leon on a split decision, was the payoff for
\nall of his hard work in fighting his way out of the wilderness.<\/p>\n
Chrisjon caught the boxing bug from his father Christian
\nTjahjadi, who was an amateur fighter in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\"I got into boxing when I was five,\" Chrisjon told The Jakarta
\nPost at the Bank Buana Boxing Camp, which is also his trainer
\nMuchlis Sutan Rambing's home in Kampong Lasipin, Semarang,
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
Chrisjon has a brother and a sister. His brother, Andrian
\nJohn, is also a professional boxer.<\/p>\n
Chrisjon never fought in the amateur ranks like most
\nIndonesian fighters, instead jumping directly into the
\nprofessional ranks.<\/p>\n
Feeling that boxing was destined to be his life, Chrisjon, who
\nwas born on Sept. 14, 1980, took up the sport seriously as a
\nyouth in Belang village in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java.<\/p>\n
\"I'm a rural boy. Look, my mother's name is Warsini. 'Warsini'
\nis a common name for villagers, right?\" he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Chrisjon had his first matches while still in junior high
\nschool, fighting at local fairs in Banjarnegara.<\/p>\n
\"Don't ask how much I got paid for that. The point was that I
\nwas able to box, plus I got a little money for food and stuff.
\nThat's all. No more. I really enjoyed the routine at the time,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
With no equipment available, Chrisjon did anything he could to
\nbuild up his body, including helping to push full carts up a hill
\nin his village. He got money for the work, but what he really
\ncared about was building up his strength.<\/p>\n
\"The money wasn't really worth it. Only Rp 500. But I was
\nhappy given that while I was trying to build my strength, I was
\ngetting paid at the same time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
On discovering his son's boxing talent, his father brought
\nChrisjon to the boxing camp managed by Sutan Rambing in Semarang.<\/p>\n
\"I went to school as well as trained in boxing,\" Chrisjon said
\nabout the early months of his partnership with Sutan Rambing.<\/p>\n
Chrisjon began to make his name in 1997 when Indosiar began to
\nbroadcast pro boxing bouts.<\/p>\n
\"I got paid Rp 350,000 a bout, and that had to be split with
\nthe boxing camp and the boxing association,\" said Chrisjon, who
\nsaid he first fought in the junior featherweight (55.3 kilograms)
\ndivision.<\/p>\n
His star was soon rising. After winning the national
\nfeatherweight championship, Chrisjon took the Pan Asian Boxing
\nAssociation (PABA) crown from Park Dae-kyung of South Korea with
\na first-round KO in Jakarta last year.<\/p>\n
This success in the ring has brought with it economic rewards.
\n\"I bought a house on 66 square meters of land behind the training
\ncamp. I bought it for Rp 65 million,\" he said.<\/p>\n
His boxing prowess has also earned him a place on the national
\nwushu squad for the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam this
\nDecember.<\/p>\n
\"I will compete in the 56 to 60 kilogram division. It's not
\ndifficult to compete in wushu. I just have to work on my kicks
\nand takedowns. Competing in wushu will not harm my boxing
\ncareer,\" he said.<\/p>\n
His Bali triumph on Sept. 25, which earned him Rp 100 million,
\ngave him a perfect 33 wins in 33 fights, 19 wins by way of
\nknockout.<\/p>\n
The 12-round fight was a tense affair, with American judge
\nRuben Garcia scoring it 116-111 and South Korean Kwan Ho-jang
\n116-113 for Chrisjon, while Guillermo Perez Pineda of Panama gave
\nthe fight to Leon with a 116-112 score.<\/p>\n
And the next step will be no less tough for the Indonesian,
\nwith WBA champion Derrick Gainer of the United States being his
\nnext hurdle.<\/p>\n
Gainer, who is currently looking to unify the WBA and IBF
\ntitles, has six months to give Chrisjon a mandatory fight.<\/p>\n
If Gainer fails to fight Chrisjon, he will have to relinquish
\nhis WBA title to Chrisjon. But the Indonesian will, within a
\nmonth, have to face a mandatory fight against number one
\nchallenger and former champion Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to his next challenge, Chrisjon, who idolizes
\nOscar De La Hoya, said: \"De La Hoya is a boxer with complete
\nskills. I'm not by any means a match for him. Every boxer has
\ndifferent characteristics. One thing worth emulating from La Hoya
\nis that he never loses his wits against opponents, no matter how
\nstrong they are. And my next opponents will be very strong.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hard-work-pays-off-for-chrisjon-1447893297",
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