Top national boxers dominate Golden Gloves championship
Top national boxers dominate Golden Gloves championship
JAKARTA (JP): The Bahari brothers, Nemo and Pino, lived up to
their father's expectations as national top pugilists overpowered
their unrated rivals at the Golden Gloves championships concluded
in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, on Saturday.
Nemo punched his way to the tournament's best boxer after he
won a unanimous point decision over unheralded Royke Waney of
North Sulawesi in their four-round featherweight finale.
North Sulawesi, one of the country's former strongest boxing
powerhouses, earned consolation as welterweight Audi Runtupalit,
who outpointed Ivan Pioh of Jakarta, was awarded the favorite
boxer tag. Audi produced an impressive win over red-hot favorite
Aswin Cabui in the semifinals.
Boxers grouped in the national team, composed of seven
pugilists who will represent Indonesia in the 12th Asian Games in
Hiroshima in October, hauled in five golds and a silver during
Saturday's 10 finals contested at Mattoangin sport hall.
All attention was drawn to the long-awaited big match pitting
two top national pugilists, Pino and Albert Papilaya. Thunderous
applause filled the sport hall as both top guns fought all the
way for the middleweight title.
The spectators, however, had to concede that Pino clinched a
narrow win during the exhausting four-round fight.
However, Pino, the 1990 Asian Games gold medalist in the
middleweight division, left a big question hanging around after
his victory. The national amateur boxing body (Pertina) had asked
him to move to the heavier category in Hiroshima and named Albert
to take his place. The Denpasar native, however, insisted on
fighting in his ideal division.
A controversial decision tainted the championships jointly
held by Pertina and the Indonesian Journalist Association (PWI).
The organizers sustained a protest lodged by the host team, which
wanted to give pinweight Johannis Atbar, a semifinalist who lost
to Amos Anima of Irian Jaya, a place in the final.
Johannis stepped into the ring in the final only to crash to a
defeat to Usman Tabani of West Nusa Tenggara. (amd)