Pino beats Wood, dodges Albert
JAKARTA (JP): Middleweight title holder Pino Bahari punched his way to the semifinals of the President's Cup boxing championships here yesterday, but an intriguing duel with fellow Indonesian Albert Papilaya has not eventuated.
Pino, a gold medalist in the 1990 Asian Games, won a unanimous decision over Stephen Wood of New Zealand to join another five home pugilists to advance to the medal race of the international boxing tournament.
Both Pino and Albert, who underwent training under different coaches prior to the championships, were widely expected to lock horns in the finals.
Pino and his brother Nemo came close to receiving a ban from the Indonesian amateur boxing association (Pertina) after refusing to enter the centralized training program in Jakarta due to school commitments.
However, they won a last-minute call-up to don the national colors in the tournament after chairman of the National Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar personally intervened.
Albert, a quarterfinalist in the World Championships in Bangkok, failed to match Australian Justan John Crowforn blow for blow during a tense five-rounder. Playing before his fanatical fans, Albert lost on points to the attack-minded Australian.
An out-of-form Albert was totally outgunned from the opening bell by the hard-hitting Crowforn. Albert, who found himself on the receiving end throughout the bout, did not have time to catch his breath as Crowforn landed a flurry of two-fist combinations.
Pino displayed a contrasting style, stealing most of his points from Wood's open defense. The Indonesian missed a number of big blows, but his persistent charges were enough to overcome his sluggish rival.
"I tried my best, that's all," Pino said. "I cannot judge my own performance when I box, but I'm quite pleased with the way it went."
Pino will now meet Bahari Mohammad of Algeria, who stopped Indonesian Salahudin in the second round of their bout scheduled for five rounds yesterday.
To add insult to injury, Indonesian ace boxers suffered another major blow when Joko Suryono crashed to a knocked-out defeat to Valery Gareev of Russia in the second round of their welterweight match yesterday.
But Indonesia still had something to be proud of when Hermensen Ballo produced the biggest upset of the day by out- pointing Asian Games gold medalist Manuel Velasco of the Philippines in the light-flyweight contest.
Three Indonesian boxers advanced to the light flyweight, opening up the possibility that Indonesia will win a gold medal in the division. Hermensen will fight compatriot Syamsul Bahri for a place in the final. The other semifinal bout pits Lapaene against the only non-Indonesian, Lim Kae-hyong of South Korea. (amd)