Soleh takes featherweight crown

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian boxer Soleh Sundava won the featherweight title of the Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA) after canvassing Park Sung-hoon of South Korea on Tuesday night.

Soleh fulfilled his fans' hope for him to knock out Park before the sixth round of the 12-round bout, held at a studio of private television station RCTI.

"I thank all the people who have supported and motivated me to win this title," he said with tears in his eyes.

Soleh, 25, floored Park, three years his junior, with continuous upper cuts to Park's torso and jaw, Antara reported on Wednesday.

Park was out of his league from the opening bell. Some spectators were skeptical of Park's second ranking in PABA after observing his poor technical skills and physical stature.

"He must be a lowly ranked boxer," Antara quoted Harun, a boxing fan from Cengkareng, West Jakarta, as saying.

Boxing promoter Tourino Tidar said he was satisfied with Soleh's success. "Soleh should defend his title in three months. We have to wait for another boxer to challenge him."

Meanwhile, Indonesian Andrian Kaspari will challenge International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba of South Africa in November despite testing positive for hepatitis B.

Andrian's promotor Herry "Aseng" Sugiarto was quoted by the news agency as saying his boxer would meet the world champion despite being forced to cancel a bout scheduled last Sunday.

"Andrian will still challenge the world champion because he is the first challenger on the IBF featherweight list. But he should wait for the winner between Ledwaba and a boxer from Puerto Rico in September," Aseng said in a discussion in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday.

Andrian's fight was called off at the last minute after he tested positive for hepatitis B in South Africa. The hepatitis virus is contained in saliva, blood and other bodily secretions.

Aseng said that he would finance Andrian's treatment.

"He has three months left before the bout. If he is infected with hepatitis, I will take him to Singapore for medical treatment. I will finance the treatment.

"I think many sponsors are willing to support him," he said.

Andrian's manager Eddy Pirih said Ledwaba used the discovery of the hepatitis antibodies to avoid the fight. He said the IBF did not set regulations on tests for hepatitis or HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. (ivy)