World beater Elly lives out a quiet retirement
World beater Elly lives out a quiet retirement
Musthofid
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A little over 20 years ago, Indonesian professional boxing
entered a new era when Ellyas Pical became the first of his
countrymen to earn a world championship belt.
Elly, as he is better known, knocked out South Korean Ju Do
Chun to win the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super
flyweight belt in Jakarta on May 3, 1985.
As millions of local boxing enthusiasts watched the live TV
broadcast at home, Elly, 25, stopped Chun in the eighth round
after a hard left hook to the jaw.
The feat was not to be repeated for more than 18 years, until
Chris John (featherweight) and M. Rachman (mini flyweight) became
world champions.
The glorious moment is still vivid in Elly's mind.
"It's the victory I'd love to remember all my life. That made
me the first Indonesian to become the world champion. I'm proud
of the achievement," Elly said in a recent interview at his home
in the suburb of Bintaro, South Jakarta.
"I dedicated it to the country and nation," he added, his tone
rising with pride.
It was a dream come true for Elly, who dropped out of the
fifth grade and took up boxing to keep him out of street fights
in his small village in the Maluku archipelago.
After his triumph, he met then president Soeharto, the rare
audience a token of the government's gratitude for Elly's proud
achievement.
He lost the crown a year later but later regained it,
indicative of the ups-and-downs of his career.
His bid at a unification bout ended up with him suffering a
knockout by WBA champion Khaosai Galaxy of in 1987. He came back
to take the vacant title before relinquishing it for good with a
defeat by Juan Polo Perez.
The loss came amid the boxer's increasingly disharmonious
relationship with promoters.
Today, Elly has little to show for his former success --
except the memories.
With wife Rina Siahaya -- a dentist -- and two sons, Elly
lives in a modest home in the Bintaro housing complex, a 1995
Ford parked outside their fence.
Wearing a collared T-shirt, the former world champion, now 45,
shows a few extra kilograms from his heyday, no longer the wiry
little battler with the lethal left hook.
His is not proficient in Indonesian, having used his Ambonese
dialect most of his life, and his wife helps in explaining his
thoughts as he stumbles over words.
Both are disillusioned by the throwaway attitude toward past
champions in Indonesian society.
"I can describe him as having been dumped after all he did for
the nation. The government doesn't care about him anymore," Rina
said.
Her brief stint as a manager for her husband was difficult,
especially in dealing with the close-knit, boys' club of the
boxing community. After her husband's career ended, she has been
the family's breadwinner through her dentistry, while Elly spends
his days exercising and in church activities.
Elly seemed destined to become a boxer, his involvement in
street fights getting him into trouble, including expulsion from
school in the fifth grade.
But his frustrated parents did not support him when he said he
wanted a career in the ring.
"My mother protested that how could I box with my small body.
But I was able to convince her and I promised her that if I were
a success I would bring her along to Jakarta," Elly said.
From the age of 14, he embarked on disciplined training. "His
motivation was incredibly strong," Rina said.
He won best boxer status in the 1977 Golden Gloves, as well as
notching the best boxer in the national championships in three
consecutive years from 1980-82.
His historic international victory came at the expense of IBF
reigning champion Ju Do Chun, who had been considered almost
invincible.
Elly remained in competitive boxing until 1989. Cesar Polanco,
Khaosai Galaxy and Juan Polo Perez were the boxers who inflicted
three of the five defeats he suffered during his boxing career.
Elly managed to avenge the defeat against Polanco in a title
rematch before he lost the title for the second time when he was
knocked out in the 14th round by Galaxy in a WBA title bout.
His loss to Perez in Roanoke, Virginia, effectively put an end
to his career.
On the outs with promoters, Elly's expected rematch with Perez
never materialized, although he did take part in exhibitions
before finally hanging up his gloves in 1992.
With his career over, the former world champion had little
money in the bank to live off, the sad story of many boxers,
poorly educated and none too savvy to the slick ways of the
boxing world.
Rina said Elly was taken advantage of by others.
"People thought Elly had a lot of money. In fact, he didn't.
He got a little portion of his bout fees. Elly had been fooled
around. That's why I stepped in at the recommendation of he KTI
(Indonesian Pro Boxing Commission)," Rina said.
From the Rp 100 million for the fight against Galaxy, Rina
said, Elly received only Rp 30 million.
Rina also noted the contract which tied Elly to a lifetime
partnership with his promoter.
"The contract was written in English. How could they do it in
such a way? Elly doesn't understand Bahasa, let alone English."
The beating he took both in and out of the ring seems to have
had a lasting impact. He said he did not want his two sons --
Lorinly, 17, and Matthew, 15, -- to take up the sport.
"I prefer they become something else than boxers," he said,
showing a scar suffered in the Galaxy fight.
While applauding the boom in televised boxing bouts, Elly said
local boxers generally lacked the powerful punches needed to
compete on the international level.
He added that small purses for boxers -- the complaint of
Chris John in his acrimonious parting with his former coach --
remains an issue.
Elly also points to his own circumstances today in the effort
to help athletes of the future.
"The government may also have to start giving attention to
(successful) athletes in retirement. This will help stimulate
high performance in the future."
When asked what he would have hoped from the government, Elly
said: "I wish the government had given me a job."