Sutan tells Chris John he will see him in court

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.