Soleh takes featherweight crown

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)