Suwito confident of WBF defense

JAKARTA (JP): World Boxing Federation (WBF) welterweight title holder Suwito Lagola of Indonesia is confident of retaining his title in a fight against Frank Pena of the United States here on April 17.

"I have trained intensively at my home town and here in Jakarta for the fight and I feel confident I can beat Pena this April. Apart from boxing training six hours a day with a sparring partner, I have also been training with several-kilometer runs," Suwito said.

Suwito reclaimed the WBF title on Sept. 30 last year in a tough match against American Jaime Larma. Suwito won in an unanimous decision.

The 26-year-old was stripped of the title that he won in October 1995 after refusing a rematch against Magahin of the Philippines.

For his fight against Larma, Suwito received US$7,000 and Larma, two years his junior, pocketed $20,000. The victory took Suwito's record to 21-2, with eight of the victories within the distance.

Instead of returning to Jakarta after reclaiming the WBF title, Suwito went home to Binjai, North Sumatra. On Thursday, he came to Jakarta to resume training.

Pena has a 15-3 record, with two draws and eight KOs. His last fight was in 1993 when he lost to Juan Cervantes of Canada on counts in a 10-round match.

Promoters will pay Suwito US$15,000 and Pena $5,000 for the April fight.

Suwito said he was taking the match seriously. "Pena is preparing well for the fight and for this reason, I don't want to take Pena lightly."

Promoter Anton Sihombing said the fight had not yet been approved by the Indonesian Boxing Council (KTI), although all requirements to stage it had been met.

"We have fulfilled all the requirements, including down payments to the two boxers. We are yet to receive a reply from KTI. Suwito has also received 30 percent of his fee," Anton was quoted by Antara as saying.

Anton hoped the KTI would issue a permit soon for the title bout so the match would not be delayed. (lnt)