Chris John vs. Soleh Sundava
Chris John 126 lbs beat Soleh Sundava by RTD at 3:00 in round 6 of 12
- Date: 2001-11-09
- Location: Kaliwates Youth Arena, Jember, Indonesia
- Referee: Chalerm Prayadsab
- Judge: Nus Ririhena
- Judge: Agus Kadarusman
- Judge: Machmud Junus
Chris John versus Soleh Sundava was one of the biggest fights in Indonesia in the year 2000. The fight took place in Kaliwates Youth Arena, Jember, E. Java Province. This small town is almost 1000 kilometers away from Jakarta and is a five-hour drive southeast from Surabaya, the Central Java capital. Jember can only be reached by land, so those who go there need plenty of time to get there.
The date was November 9, 2001 and the two boxers were fighting for the Pan Asian Pacific Boxing Association (PABA) featherweight title, held by Sundava. The champion was 28 years old at the time and John was still 22. Sundava held the title from August 31, 1999 defeating Korea’s Park Sung-hoon in Jakarta. He became famous in Indonesia beating Muhammad Alfaridzi for Indonesia’s featherweight title in February 1999.
Sundava was durable fighter and he had defended the PABA title five times. He was trained and managed by Asep Rosanusi, who owned a slaughterhouse and traded beef in Bandung, West Java Province. Rosanusi had his own boxing gym, the Red Cobra Bandung.
The fight started at 11 pm and was broadcast live throughout Indonesia by Indosiar television. The arena was full with approximately 5000 people. John wore green trunks with gold stars on each side, Sundava wore red and black trunks. Chalerm Prayadsab from Thailand was the referee.
Sundava tried to attack in the first round. He was the aggressor, but was not effective because he was a slow starter. The first round was even. Sundava started round two in the same way, trying to attack John, but the challenger was constantly moving, making it difficult for him to land any substantial blows. Sundava pressed John, who countered and knocked Sundava knocked to the canvas. Sundava got up and continued the fight.
Sundava kept up the attack in the following rounds, but John’s defensive skills kept him from scoring. In round four, John knocked the champion to the canvas once again. This time, Sundava felt pain in his right shoulder. He tried to continue the fight until round six, attacking unsuccessfully. Sundava made a shocking decision when he refused to come out for the start of round seven. John was the new PABA featherweight champion.
According to ring doctor, Edy Herman, Sundava’s right shoulder joint had been injured when he was knocked down.