Huge boxing arena built in Bekasi for Jakarta athletes

BEKASI, West Java (JP): A new indoor boxing arena has been built in Bekasi, West Java, and is set to become the center of boxing excellence in greater Jakarta.

Manager of the arena Tourino Tidar said yesterday that he plans to stage bouts twice a week in order to realize his dreams of producing the country's boxing cream.

Erected on a 5,000-square-meter plot, the boxing arena, called Atres, can accommodate 1,500 people. "It will be the biggest in Jakarta and its three neighboring towns of Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi," said Tourino, who is also a noted promoter.

The arena will provide an international-standard boxing gym for both professional and amateur boxers. Tourino said he would groom his talents here and for this reason has resigned from his former camp Arseto.

"We have to go back to basics if we want a big return. Arseto has already grown up and no longer needs my input so much," he said.

Learning from overseas boxing camps, Tourino said that he would hire a foreign coach for his prodigies. "Without demeaning local coaches, I believe that foreigners have more rigid training programs," he explained.

"I have a dream of producing one or two champions in either the World Boxing Council or World Boxing Association," he said.

Indonesia once had two world champions, Elly Pical and Nico Thomas, in the less prestigious division the International Boxing Federation and now boasts one champion, Suwito Lagola, in the unheralded World Boxing Federation.

The Atres will be part of a new recreational park, Restika, currently being built by PT Reka Pastika Asri. The park, the only one in this town of two-million-people, is expected to be inaugurated on Aug. 17 next year shortly after the first phase of the project is completed.

Occupying an eight-hectare site formerly used as a scout camping area, the park will cost the company Rp 12 billion (US$5.4 million). Among the facilities are an American-designed master blaster, a wave pool and a children's pool.

Haryanti Katoppo, president director of Reka Pastika Asri, said that the Rp 500-million boxing arena will help her company promote the park.

On days without boxing, the arena will be turned into a stage for various performances, ranging from music to other cultural shows.

State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman is scheduled to inaugurate the boxing arena tomorrow. The national featherweight championship will follow the opening ceremony. (amd)