Adrianus gets big welcome at home for retaining title

Adrianus gets big welcome at home for retaining title

JAKARTA (JP): Adrianus Taroreh, who successfully defended his
Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) lightweight title on
Thursday for the second time, returned to Sam Ratulangi airport
and was paraded in an open car to his hometown, the Sea village
in Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi.

In his hometown, Adrianus, who was met by his parents, wife
and two lovely daughters, received cheers worthy of the champion
he is from both young and old alike.

Adrianus kept his pre-match promise by knocking out Ernie
Elesna of the Philippines at Senayan indoor stadium with a
sudden left uppercut in the second minute of the fifth round.

With the triumph, Adrianus bettered his record to 8-1, with
two KOs.

The champ pocketed Rp 30 million (US$13,800) for the bout as
well as a bonus of two million rupiah from Bian Sondak, the Bian
Boxing Club chief, which trains him.

Adrianus is now eying the World Boxing Association (WBA) title
held by Guzzie Nazarov of Russia.

"During my amateur career of more than six years I was never
beaten by anyone from the former Soviet Union," Adrianus boasted
after Thursday's fight.

Adrianus was named the Best Boxer in his amateur career at the
annual international amateur boxing championships, rated among
the world's best boxing bouts by AIBA, the world's controlling
body of the sport. (arf)