RI fighter Suwito defends WBF title<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Suwito Lagola of Indonesia defended his World
\nBoxing Federation welterweight title by outpointing Leroy Owens
\nof the United States with a unanimous decision.<\/p>\n
The three ring judges from the U.S., Thailand and Indonesia
\nawarded 118-111, 118-110 and 117-110 respectively, in favor of
\nSuwito.<\/p>\n
For Suwito, the Thursday's match at the Granadha Building was
\nhis first title defense. He captured the WBF title in September
\n1996 by outboxing Jaime Lerma of the U.S., also with a unanimous
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
Throughout the 12-round bout with Elmo L. Colonea of the
\nPhilippines as the referee, Suwito nearly overpowered his
\nopponent with a series of punches.<\/p>\n
Suwito even could have stopped the fight in the fourth round,
\nbut Owens was saved by the bell.<\/p>\n
Since the first round, Suwito, who has been hailed as a
\nnatural boxer, pressed his opponent with a series of right and
\nleft hooks, jabs and straight punches to Owens's face. Until the
\nthird round, Owens found it difficult to counter most of the
\npunches by Suwito who danced around the ring throwing a
\ncombination of punches to Owens' face and body.<\/p>\n
In the fourth round, Suwito made a hard punch to Owen's chin,
\nsending the boxer reeling toward the ropes. Elmo quickly went in
\nto break up the fight and started the 10 count on Owens. The
\nAmerican fighter recovered before the 10th counting.<\/p>\n
Suwito then put up the pressure on Owens with a series of
\npunches. Owens could not withstand the attack and nearly fell on
\nthe canvas, but was saved by the bell.<\/p>\n
Throughout the remaining seven rounds, the victory was in
\nSuwito's hands as he added more points. A unanimous decision gave
\nSuwito the match.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Owens said he was not well prepared for the fight
\nas he was replacing Frank Pena, who was injured during training
\nin the U.S.<\/p>\n
\"I only had one week to prepare so I was not fully prepared, \"
\nOwens said.<\/p>\n
Owens further said his defeat was due to a right hand injury.
\n\"I felt pain in my right fist in the first round when our fists
\nclashed against each other.\"<\/p>\n
Owens, however, admitted his defeat and said that Suwito
\ndeserved the win. \"Suwito is very strong and I had difficulty
\nfighting him. He deserves to be number one in the WBF
\nwelterweight division.\"<\/p>\n
Suwito said he was satisfied with the bout, and Owens was a
\ntough boxer.<\/p>\n
\"I am satisfied with my victory although I did not put a good
\nperformance. This title is not only for me, but also for
\nIndonesia,\" Suwito said.<\/p>\n
The match was witnessed by Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman,
\nJakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso and Rudolf S.
\nWarouw, secretary-general of the Indonesian Sports Council. (lnt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-fighter-suwito-defends-wbf-title-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}