Chrisjon to fight Rojas: WBA

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The World Boxing Association (WBA) announced on Tuesday that Venezuelan boxer Jose "Cheo" Rojas would fight WBA featherweight champion Chrisjon of Indonesia in Tenggarong, East Kalimantan, on Dec. 3.

American Derrick Gainer had been scheduled to fight Chrisjon, but Gainer pulled out last week because he refused to fight in the outdoor stadium in Tenggarong. Gainer demanded that the bout be held in an air-conditioned indoor venue.

Tourino Tidar, the Indonesian coordinator for the WBA, said on Tuesday a copy of the WBA's decision to replace Gainer with Rojas had been sent to him on Monday.

"The WBA selected Rojas to fight Chrisjon because of his track record and his readiness to fight, not based on any proposal from Chrisjon," he said.

The 33-year-old Rojas, who is the WBA superbantamweight champion and the 11th ranked WBA featherweight challenger, has a record of 19 wins and five losses, with 12 KOs.

Chrisjon holds a perfect 34-0 record, with 29 of the victories coming by knockout. The Chrisjon-Rojas bout will be refereed by Silvestre Abainza of the Philippines.

The featherweight class is for boxers under 57.1 kilograms, while the superbantamweight class is for boxers under 55.3 kilograms.