Anis retains IBF title, nets Rp 33m reward

Anis retains IBF title, nets Rp 33m reward

JAKARTA (JP): Local hero Anis Roga retained his International
Boxing Federation Intercontinental junior flyweight crown when he
battered Thailand's Chaider Jaroen into submission in the 11th
round in their title fight at Probolinggo, East Java, Sunday.

It was a come-from-behind victory for the defending champion
who appeared somewhat lethargic in the first six rounds which saw
the Thai challenger play the role of the aggressor. Jaroen was
ahead on all three judges's scorecards through those rounds.

The Thai slugger, who packed a mean punch, battered the
champion with well-aimed straights, hooks and uppercuts that
thudded clean and hard onto Anis' head and body.

But Anis gamely withstood the onslaught and weathered the
storm, absorbing the punches well and occasionally countering
with jabs and straights.

Realizing that he was behind on points, the champion moved
forward in the seventh round and punched first, applying
infighting tactics that appeared to confound Jaroen.

From that round on, Anis took control of the fight completely,
several times sending the Thai into the ropes with hooks, crosses
and crunching combinations.

Cheered on passionately by the 4,000 partisan spectators, Anis
intensified his offensive, never allowing Jaroen to fight back.

Throwing punches in clusters, he wobbled his opponent in the
10th round with a thundering overhand right. Jaroen failed to
land any meaningful counter punches as he had his hands full
defending himself against the champion's incessant and relentless
attacks.

With the challenger rendered helpless and reduced to little
more than a punching bag, one of his handlers wisely threw in the
towel midway through the 11th round and referee Jopie Limahelu
immediately stopped the fight.

A throng of spectators swamped the ring to congratulate Anis
as the whole Indonesian camp boisterously celebrated their hero's
technical knockout triumph.

"I had my hands full against him in the first five rounds, but
I sensed that he began to tire in the seventh round. And I made
the most of it by fighting more aggressively," Anis said.

Extremely impressed and happy with Anis' victorious
performance, several local businessmen and high-ranking officials
spontaneously gave the champion a handsome bonus of Rp 33 million
as a token of their appreciation.

Among the generous "donors" were Chief of the Brawijaya
Military Command Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo and the fight's promoter
Roy B. Haryanto, who each contributed Rp 5 million, PT HM
Sampoerna (Rp 10 million) and another leading national promoter
Aseng who contributed Rp 6 million.

Anis thus followed in the footsteps of compatriot Andrian
Kaspari who also successfully defended his IBF Intercontinental
bantamweight title with a third-round knockout of Sairung
Suwannasin, also of Thailand, in Surabaya, Saturday.(bas)