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World beater Pical lives out a quiet retirement
Musthofid The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A little over 20 years ago, Indonesian professional boxing entered a new era when Ellyas "Elly" Pical became the first of his countrymen to earn a world championship belt.
Pical knocked out South Korean Ju Do Chun to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight belt in Jakarta on May 3, 1985.
As millions of local boxing enthusiasts watched the live TV broadcast at home, Pical, 25, stopped Chun in the eighth round after a punishing left hook to the jaw.
The feat was not to be repeated for more than 18 years, until Chris John (featherweight) and M. Rachman (mini flyweight) became world champions.
The glorious moment is still vivid in Pical's mind.
"It's the victory I'd love to remember all my life. That made me the first Indonesian to become the world champion. I'm proud of the achievement," he said in a recent interview at his home in the suburb of Bintaro, South Jakarta.
"I dedicated it to the country and state," he added, his tone rising with pride.
It was a dream come true for a young man who had dropped out of the fifth grade and took up boxing to keep him out of trouble in his small village in the Maluku archipelago.
After his triumph, he met then president Soeharto, the audience a token of the government's gratitude for Pical's proud achievement.
He lost the crown a year later but regained it within six months, indicative of the ups-and-downs of his career.
His bid at a unification bout ended with him suffering a knockout by WBA champion Khaosai Galaxy of Thailand in 1987. He came back to take the vacant title before relinquishing it for good with a defeat by Juan Polo Perez.
The loss came amid the boxer's increasingly disharmonious relationship with promoters.
Today, Pical has little to show for his former success -- except the memories.
With wife Rina Siahaya -- a dentist -- and two sons, he lives in a modest home in the Bintaro housing complex, a 1995 Ford parked outside their fence.
The former world champion, now 45, shows a few extra kilograms from his heyday, no longer the wiry little battler with the lethal left hook.
His is not proficient in Indonesian, having used his Ambonese dialect most of his life, and his wife helps in explaining his thoughts as he stumbles over words.
Both are disillusioned by the throwaway attitude toward past champions in Indonesian society.
"I can describe him as having been dumped after all he did for the nation. The government doesn't care about him anymore," Rina said.
Her brief stint as a manager for her husband was difficult, especially in dealing with the close-knit, boys' club of the boxing community. After her husband's career ended, she has been the family's breadwinner through her dentistry, while Pical spends his days exercising and in church activities.
Elly seemed destined to become a boxer, his involvement in street fights getting him into trouble, including expulsion from school in the fifth grade.
But his frustrated parents did not support him when he said he wanted a career in the ring.
"My mother protested that how could I box with my small body. But I was able to convince her and I promised her that if I were a success I would bring her along to Jakarta," Pical said.
From the age of 14, he embarked on disciplined training. "His motivation was incredibly strong," Rina said.
He won best boxer status in the 1977 Golden Gloves, as well as notching the best boxer in the national championships in three consecutive years from 1980-82.
His historic international victory came at the expense of IBF reigning champion Ju Do Chun, who had been considered almost invincible.
Pical remained in competitive boxing until 1989. Cesar Polanco, Khaosai Galaxy and Juan Polo Perez were the boxers who inflicted three of the five defeats he suffered during his boxing career.
He managed to avenge the defeat against Polanco in a title rematch in Jakarta in 1986 before he lost the title for the second time when he was knocked out in the 14th round by Galaxy in a WBA title bout in February 1987.
His loss to Perez in Roanoke, Virginia, in October 1989 effectively put an end to his career.
On the outs with promoters, Elly's expected rematch with Perez never materialized, although he did take part in exhibition fights before finally hanging up his gloves for good in 1992.
With his career over, the former world champion found he had little money in the bank to live off, the sad story of many boxers, poorly educated and none too savvy to the slick ways of the boxing world.
Rina said Pical was taken advantage of by others.
"People thought Elly had a lot of money. In fact, he didn't. He got a little portion of his bout fees. Elly was messed around. That's why I stepped in at the recommendation of the KTI (Indonesian Pro Boxing Commission)," Rina said.
From the Rp 100 million for the fight against Galaxy, Rina said, Pical received only Rp 30 million.
She also noted the contract which tied her husband to a lifetime partnership with his promoter.
"The contract was written in English. How could they do that? Elly doesn't understand Bahasa, let alone English."
The beating he took both in and out of the ring seems to have had a lasting impact. He said he did not want his two sons -- Lorinly, 17, and Matthew, 15, -- to take up the sport.
"I prefer they become something else than boxers," he said, showing a scar suffered in the Galaxy fight.
While applauding the boom in televised boxing bouts, Pical said local boxers generally lacked the powerful punches needed to compete on the international level.
He added that small purses for boxers -- the complaint of Chris John in his acrimonious parting with his former coach -- remains an issue.
He also points to his own circumstances today in the effort to help athletes of the future.
"The government may also have to start paying attention to (successful) athletes in their retirement. This will be an incentive for outstanding performances in the future."
When asked what he would have hoped for from the government, he said: "I wish the government had given me a job."