Hebi Marapu Rounds The Intercontinental IBA Champion Belt In The Duel Of Versus The Rock

Indonesian professional boxer Hebi Marapu (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Indonesian professional boxer Hebi Marapu is aiming for the title of the IBA Intercontinental lightweight in the match at the end of 2022 against Philippine boxer Al the Rock Toyogon in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, 25 December. This title became co-play of the Johor International Boxing Championship event held by Malaysian promoter FH Promotions and XBC Sportech with the main match for WBC Asia's bridgeweight title title between Malaysian boxer Muhamad Farhad Farhan against Yousof Mohammadiosmanvandi from Iran. Toyogon is a former super WBC Asia Silver champion. This 24-year-old boxer has a fighting record of 13 wins (9 KOs), seven defeats (2 KOs), and a draw. Toyogon faced former WBC lightweight world champion Jorge Linares in 2019 and lost an absolute number. This fight is part of XBC Sportech's plan to prepare Hebi towards even higher levels after winning the WBC Asia Continutal lightweight interim title last July.

We have designed a roadmap for Hebi's career to be able to get in the ring at least three times this year. We can see the quality of the opponents faced in every fight continues to improve as he wants to prepare Hebi to compete at a higher level for next year," said XBC Sportech CEO Urgyen Rinchen Sim, quoting Antara. Since joining XBC Sportech, Hebi has had two fights during 2022. First, against former Italian national champion Nicola Cipolletta in Bern, Switzerland, April which ended in a second round of TKO wins.

Then, this 32-year-old boxer defeated Pipat Chaiporn with a number win when he won the WBC Asia Continutal lightweight title in Pattaya, Thailand. With these two fights, Hebi has a record of fighting 17 times (12 KOs) and one loss. "For 2023, we have designed a schedule for other Hebi and boxer XBC Sportechs, namely, Jon Jon Jet and Ilham Leoisa. In addition to maintaining existing titles and winning other titles, we continue to look for opportunities by expanding networks abroad so that our boxers can fight for world titles," concluded Sim. Currently, Hebi is starting to undergo intensive training camps under the supervision of Canadian coach David John Treharne who came to Indonesia last week.