Sutan prepares to sue Chris John
Sutan prepares to sue Chris John
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Surrounded by a posse of attorneys, sports officials and
members of the media, boxing champion Chris John came face to
face with former trainer Sutan Rambing on Friday in a last-ditch
effort to end their acrimonious dispute.
Their next encounter, however, is likely to be in court.
After a tense meeting lasting almost two hours at the Office
of the State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, the World
Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion and Sutan seemed
no closer to resolving the dispute.
The latter stems from Sutan's contention that Chris John's
resignation from his Semarang-based Bank Buana training camp in
December 2004 breached their contract, valid through 2007.
A pensive Chris John allowed high-profile lawyer Ruhut
Sitompul to do most of the talking for him.
"If you want to file suit with the police ... if you want to
sue Chris John, go ahead. We are prepared. In fact, we are
awaiting it. I'm happy to let the court decide," Ruhut said.
In an agreement reached before Chris John's successful title
defense against American Derrick Gainer on April 22, Sutan was to
receive Rp 400 million in compensation.
The agreement was made between Sutan and fight promoter Daniel
Bahari, mediated by representatives from the office of the sports
minister and the controlling and supervisory body for
professional sports (BPPOPI).
Sutan received Rp 150 million before the bout, but the
remainder has not been paid. A check handed over to the BPPOPI by
Daniel on Wednesday was worthless because it had not been
endorsed by the boxer.
Ruhut spent most of Friday's meeting arguing that Sutan's
demand was excessive. He said Chris John, now trained by
Australian Craig Christian, received a net amount of Rp 450
million, after deductions for taxes and fees, from the Gainer
bout.
Sutan refused to back down from his demand, balking at Chris
John's offer of another Rp 50 million.
"It's simple. I'm trying to hold firm on what we agreed upon
before. This is not like bartering for vegetables. My stance is
that the agreement is carried out to the letter or we take the
case to court," Sutan said.
"He (Chris John) is now rich. He isn't the same as 10 years
ago."
Sutan's lawyer said Sutan would sue for Rp 5 billion in
damages, and their legal team was also looking into Christian's
legal status in Indonesia.
"We will file suit with the police, probably tomorrow. As for
Craig, we will have to look into documents. He should come to
Indonesia equipped with a work visa," said Zuchli Imran Putra.
Chris John, 25, acknowledged that a legal battle may tarnish
his boxing career.
"What else can I say? I'm prepared for it," he said.
The uneasy atmosphere of recriminations and hurt feelings was
too much for former Asian light middleweight Syamsul Anwar
Harahap, now a respected TV commentator and newspaper columnist.
"I'm very sad. The national boxing (community) is in mourning.
Please, give it another thought," he said, bursting into tears.
As the two opposing camps filed out of the room, nobody seemed
to be listening to his plea.