JAKARTA – Former world featherweight champion (57.1 kg) WBA version, Chris John expressed his concern over the tragedy experienced by boxer Hero Tito. Hero, a boxer from Malang whose real name is Heru Purwanto, died on Thursday 3 March 2022 after falling into a coma due to a 7th round knockout loss to James Mokoginta.
The Hero-James fight was held in the Holywings Sports Show Boxing performance at Holywings Club SCBD, Jakarta on 27 February 2022.
“Obviously, it's a shame to fall victim again in Indonesian professional boxing. It would be nice if we all learn from the events of the boxer's death in the past, so that in the future a tragedy like Heru's will not happen again," Chris told VOI.
For Chris, the most important thing a boxer has to do is prepare. Whether it's a portion of exercise, rest, nutritious food, and drink enough.
“As a former boxer, I understand very well how to prepare for a match. Most boxers will concentrate on meeting the maximum weight of the scales in the class being played. So he would desperately try to keep his scales steady. Here, most boxers do the wrong thing, which is not drinking enough, causing dehydration," said Chris.
Exercise without balanced eating, drinking, and adequate rest will actually pose a danger to the boxer.
“Boxing is a tough and dangerous sport, so good preparation is absolutely necessary. Do not prepare suddenly, and should be done in advance. And once again, learn to restore body fluids lost due to exercise. Adequate body fluids are very important to protect the brain, because 80 percent of the human body is fluid. If a boxer is dehydrated, then the protection of the brain by fluids will be very less. As a result, boxers are prone to brain injuries due to punches,” said the former champion who is now the administrator of the Central KONI.
In addition to the problem of boxing preparation, Chris also highlighted the lack of frequency of professional boxing matches in Indonesia.
“Due to the low frequency of matches in Indonesia, boxers usually become less focused in preparation. The exercises tend not to be serious, just sober. This kind of thing should be avoided," said Chris John again.
Hero Tito is the 31st Indonesian boxer who died after fighting. Hero's departure at the age of 35 leaves a wife and two daughters who are still children.
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