JAKARTA – The Indonesian boxing world is in a state of concern, after one of the national boxers, Hero Tito, lay in a coma at Mitra Keluarga Kelapa Gading Hospital, North Jakarta. Hero, a boxer from Malang whose real name is Heru Purwanto, fell into a coma after losing by knockout round 7 to James Mokoginta in a fight at Hollywings Club, Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) Jakarta on Sunday night 27 February 2022.
The boxing event with the title Hollywings Sports Show Boxing is a collaboration between Promoter Armin Tan and well-known lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea as the owner of Hollywings Club SCBD. The Hero vs James match is scheduled for 10 rounds in the lightweight (61.2 kg) class to compete for the vacant Indonesian Boxing Association (ATI) version of the national champion title.
The Heru vs James fight is also an additional match for the WBC International Junior Flyweight Championship (49 kg) between Tibo Monabesa and the Filipino boxer, Jayson Vayson. Hero was knocked out after James' right upper cut hit his jaw. The 35-year-old boxer fell backwards. The back of the Hero's head hit hard against the canvas.
Hero got up and sat down when the referee, Teguh Tambunan, finished the 10 count and decided a KO win for James. However, the boxer, who has a fighting record of 29-16-2 (11 KOs) then collapsed again, and immediately received help from the match medical team. Hero is carried out of the ring in an unconscious state. He was immediately rushed to the hospital for help.
Hero immediately received surgery to suck out the blood clot in his brain on Sunday night. The operation on Hero was carried out by a team of doctors led by Dr. Mardjono Tjahjadi, a neurosurgeon specialist at Mitra Keluarga Hospital, Kelapa Gading.
Messy PlanHero Tito is a boxer with a lot of fighting frequency, even excessive. Since November 2021, he has been in the ring every month. According to official records from Boxrec.com, Hero appeared in a 6-round battle against Hendy Luis in Malang on November 7, 2021 and won on points. Then he fought in Hyderabad, India in an 8 round duel against Khartik Kumar, losing. The last is the fight against James which resulted in Hero KO and coma.
One fight that was not recorded was in January 2022. There is no record explaining the Hero fight in January, but promoter Armin Tan said that the boxer fought in Malang in January 2022.
Hero actually also had plans to go to the ring in Toowoomba, Brisbane, Australia on March 12, 2022. However, the plan was definitely not implemented after the tragedy happened to him on Sunday night.
“Actually, I have warned Heru not to play against James because he has plans to enter the ring on March 12 in Brisbane. But he didn't budge, because he reasoned that he needed money to build his house. In addition, according to him, the match in Australia will only be six rounds, so he considers it to be something that is not too heavy. Even Heru was actually asked by match promoter Brendan Smith to stay in Brisbane for a month and prepare," Rosa Kusuma, the match stylist who arranged Hero's match plan in Brisbane, told VOI.
Hero Paid AmountAccording to Rosa, Hero will be paid 4000 Australian dollars, around Rp. 42 million, for the 6-rode match which he was supposed to play on March 12.
"That's a pretty big fee for a six-round match, so actually Heru doesn't need to be desperate to compete on February 27. I had already advised Heru not to enter the ring that Sunday night. But I can't stop him because I'm not his manager. I'm just helping Heru with administrative matters for the match in Toowoomba later," added Rosa, who has brought Hero to compete in Australia twice.
In a deadly battle that left Hero Tito in a coma, he received a fee of Rp. 25 million from Armin.
"I paid Heru Rp. 25 million, plus a bonus of the same amount if he wins. But in the end, it's sad like this," said Armin.
To VOI, Armin told that the Hero's maintenance fee that he had spent until Wednesday March 2 was Rp. 300 million.
“I am responsible for all of Heru's treatment costs. But of course I have limitations regarding the cost. I will see the progress and discuss with the team of doctors and Heru's family to decide on the next steps after the operation," said Armin again.
Weak Government OversightIn the eyes of veteran boxer former lightweight and welterweight champion (66 kg) Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA), David Koswara, the end of Hero's tragedy is the weakness of supervision. According to him, the current state of professional boxing in Indonesia is increasingly chaotic.
“The main issue is actually a matter of supervision. When there was still BOPI as a government representative to oversee professional sports activities, our pro boxing was still a mess. Especially now that BOPI is disbanded, our fists are getting messy. Existing signs are always violated, for example regarding the obligation to check black books. Now who cares about the black book, even though it's a boxer's driver's license,” said David.
The black book is a record of every boxer's fight. The book must be included when the boxer faces a match. A boxer gets permission to ride the ring or not, one of them is based on the records in the book. There is recorded the date the boxer entered the ring and the results obtained.
"The tendency of professional boxers is that he will definitely agree if he is offered to fight, his name is also looking for money. Often he doesn't think about his health because he's used to being hit," said David.
"Not to mention that there are so many boxing associations in Indonesia. There is KTI, KTPI, ATI, I don't know what else. Each also acts according to his own will. Moreover, boxing associations that rarely get projects, they are easily driven by promoters. In my opinion, the government should come back directly. All for the common good. Boxing is not a game, but a risky and dangerous activity. We have to understand that," said David again.
The BOPI that David mentioned is the Indonesian Professional Sports Agency. The organization in charge of supervising professional sports activities in Indonesia is under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In 2020 this agency was dissolved by President Jokowi through Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2020.
Indonesia has been sanctioned by the world boxing body WBC in 2012. Indonesia is considered negligent in carrying out supervision, which has resulted in many cases of boxer deaths in the ring. This deficiency was corrected through strict supervision by BOPI (at that time still called BPPOPI) regarding the rules for obtaining boxing permits.
It is time for the Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Youth and Sports to return full attention to professional sports activities, especially fighting sports which have a high risk of injury and even death. Through strict supervision and control, it is hoped that the tragedy that befell Hero Tito will not be repeated.
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