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New Faces: Tibo Monabesa

Photo courtesy of Mikko Marttinen
Fighters Network
01
Sep

Indonesian 108-pound prospect Tibo Monabesa puts his unbeaten record on the line when he faces Joel Taduran on Friday in Jakarta in a 10-round bout.

TIBO MONABESA

Age: 26
Hometown: Tangerang, Indonesia
Weight class: Junior flyweight
Height / Reach: 5-foot-3 (163 cm) / 66 inches (170 cm)
Amateur record: No amateur career
Turned pro: 2012
Pro record: 13-0-1, 6 knockouts
Trainer: Armin Tan, Khairus Sahel
Manager: Armin Tan
Promoter: Armin Tan

Best night of pro career: Monabesa says his best performance was knocking Jack Amisa out in five rounds to retain his Indonesian national title out in November 2014, following a 14-month hiatus from the ring.



“I really enjoyed the fight even though I was knocked down in the third round,” Monabesa told RingTV.com through Mikko Marttinen. “But I had prepared well and was confident I could overcome the difficulties. That is why I was very satisfied after winning the fight.”

Worst night of pro career: The 26-year-old southpaw was tentative in his debut against Benigno Nino and feels that is his weakest performance to date.

“I was very nervous and couldn’t enjoy the fight,” he said. “I still managed to win on a split decision.”

Next fight: Monabesa puts his unbeaten record on the line when he faces Joel Taduran on Friday in Jakarta over 10 scheduled rounds.

His 22-year-old Filipino opponent, sports a 7-4-1, 1 KO record, since turning pro in early 2013. Although Taduran has never been stopped he has lost his last two fights.

The most noteworthy name on his resume is former WBC flyweight ruler, Toshiyuki Igarashi who bested him last May. Monabesa will be expected to win but a stoppage victory would be a real coupe.

The plan if all goes well is for Monabesa to fight for WBA international title on Nov. 19 on Daud Yordan’s undercard.

Why he’s a prospect: Monabesa along with flyweight sensation Iwan Zoda are thought of as the best up-and-coming young fighters in Indonesia, it is hoped that they could bring a measure of success to the country that they haven’t had since Chris John’s featherweight reign.

At this point Monabesa hasn’t sparred with anyone of note outside national level fighters in his homeland.

He feels his straight punches are his biggest asset while his coach believes it to be his left cross.

Marttinen is a boxing agent who works with several Indonesian fighters is high on Monabesa.

“He has good boxing skills but also decent punching power for a junior flyweight,” explained Marttinen. “He boxes very patiently out of his southpaw stance, counters well and makes very few mistakes in the ring.

“He is a very humble and hard working boxer. Tibo has cleaned out the division in Indonesia and is now making the step to international level.”

Why he’s a suspect: Monabesa’s lack of amateur career could be a potential weakness but he’s learnt on the job so far.

The Indonesian and his trainer feel he needs to work on throwing better quality hooks and uppercuts.

At this point we don’t know how Monabesa takes a punch or reacts to adversity during a fight. He doesn’t appear to be a big puncher but has improved his power, scoring three consecutive knockouts.

Story lines: Monabesa was raised on a small farming village on the Island of Timor. He had four siblings, one died at an early age.

As a youngster he watched boxing on TV and then took up the sport, surprising everyone who knew him.

“I watched a lot of boxing as a child,” he said. “I remember seeing [Mike] Tyson versus [Evander] Holyfield on TV. After that I followed Chris John’s career. I saw that he was small and could be a champion so why not me.”

It was tough for him to practice boxing because there wasn’t a gym where he lived: “I woke up every day at 4;00 am and at 5:00 am I ran 10 km. In the afternoon I ran again.”

After graduating from High school he moved to Jakarta to become a boxer. Initially he took a job as bus driver to help make end’s meet, until he met his now manager Armin Tan who now looks after him.

Monabesa doesn’t have a particular boxing hero. He takes different facets of many boxers and looks to work them into his own game.

He has a girlfriend who supports his career. Away from boxing in his down time he likes to speak to family and friends back in Timor.

Fight-by-fight record:

2012
May 16 – Benigno Nino – SD 6
Aug. 1 – Melianus Mirin – SD 6
Sept. 9 – Arbito Vretat – UD

2013
Feb. 2 – Domi Nenokeba – TD 3
Mar. 23 – Kichang Kim – TKO 5
May 9 – Jack Amisa – MD 6
May 25 – Domi Nenokeba – UD 12
Sept. 8 – Ellias Nggenggo – UD 12

2014
Nov. 30 – Jack Amisa – KO 5
Dec. 17 – Boy Tanto – TKO 2
2015
Jan. 25 – Samuel Tehuayo – PTS 12
Sept. 19 – Ichal Tobida – TKO 4
Oct. 31 – Johan Wahyudi – TKO 4

2016
Apr. 30 – Kajonsak Pothang – KO 6

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him at www.twitter.com/AnsonWainwright

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