Sad news from the Indonesian national boxing scene. Lightweight boxer Heru ‘Hero Tito’ Purwanto passed away after a devastating uppercut knockout he received last Sunday.
Tito was fighting James Mokoginta for the vacant Indonesian Boxing Association lightweight title on the undercard of WBC International light flyweight title fight between Indonesian Tibo Monabesa and Filipino Jayson Vayson in Jakarta, Indonesia last Sunday.
The fight started competitively for a couple of rounds, until Mokoginta found a hole in Tito’s defense and hit him with a jab-uppercut combo that dropped Tito unconscious in the 7th round.
The 35-year old was then rushed into the hospital and received intensive medical care. Unfortunately, he passed away on Thursday, after 4 days of comma. The news was confirmed by his promoter and manager Armin Tan.
Tito was actually scheduled to fight in early March in Brisbane, but he took the fight against Mokoginta on short notice to add some funds for his house renovation. He was paid $1,700 for the bout against Mokoginta, and was going to get another $4,000 should he also fight in Brisbane.
Armin Tan admitted that he will cover all of Tito’s medical expenses, which are estimated to be around $20,800. Tan is reportedly also making sure that Tito’s family is taken care of. He also pledged to pay for education of Tito’s two children.
“I have made a vow, I will bear the education costs for Hero’s two children. Hero is like my own brother, we have lost enough” Tan said on Friday.
“I’m ready to take all the risks, even though we really don’t want boxing shown to cause fatal injuries or to cause death to the boxers,” he added.
Tito has been a veteran of many tough fights, holding a record of 29-16-2 with 11 knockouts prior to his tragic fight against Mokoginta. He once captured the Indonesian Professional Boxing Commission (IBPC) super featherweight title once and fought for regional titles multiple times on his career.
Boxing promotion confirmed the news in a social media posting:
“Sad news as lightweight boxer Heru “Hero Tito” Purwanto has passed away after suffering a devastating uppercut KO loss last Sunday.
Tito was fighting James Mokoginta last Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the 7th round, Mokoginta landed an uppercut that dropped Tito which who tried to get up before eventually fell unconscious.
The 35-year old then fell into comma and received intense medical care due to the cerebral haemorrhage but passed away earlier today.
Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends.”