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)