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)