Victor Andrian rushed to hospital after bout
JAKARTA (JP): The International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental junior featherweight champion, Andrian Kaspari of Indonesia, was rushed to hospital shortly after knocking out Russia's Alexander Yurikov in a non-title bout at Indosiar studio here on Friday night.
Andrian won by a technical knockout in the fourth round after sending Yurikov down with a hard uppercut to his left ribcage. But the victor was sent to hospital with a serious injury to his temple.
Antara reported on Saturday that Andrian was injured when he tried to defend himself from Yurikov's constant stream of uppercuts and hooks in the third round. Yurikov used the Cuban style against Andrian, who was dubbed "the king of knock out".
The referee took a break in the third round to allow the medical team to check Andrian after seeing him bleeding from both temples. But the doctor gave him the green light to continue the match.
Boxing observer Syamsul Anwar said Andrian had made the right choice by intensifying his attack in the fourth round because he only had a slight chance of winning with his injury.
"Andrian fought between life and death, and the Russian boxer was getting emotional and was anxious to win. Yurikov was careless because he used the wrong strategy," he said.
Syamsul said Yurikov could have won if he had maintained his rhythm and adjusted his attack.
The organizer and promoter of the fight, Herry "Aseng" Sugiarto, said Andrian's victory was lucky, because he had been bombarded by Yurikov since the first round.
"I predicted that Andrian should fight hard to prevent him falling in the sixth round. But fate gave him the victory," he said.
He said Andrian could now challenge the world featherweight champion, Mex Waba from the United States, in August.
In the junior flyweight bout, Indonesia's Faisol Akbar knocked out Sergui Tasimov of Russia in the 10th round. Indonesia's M. Rachman also knocked out fellow countryman Dipo Saloko in the fourth round and claimed the mini flyweight champion title.(ivy)