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Indonesian Boxer Chris John Returns Home Victorious
Jakarta Globe | September 22, 2009

Chris John, left, catching Rocky Juarez with a shot during their WBA featherweight title bout in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Photo: Laura Rauch, AP) Chris John, left, catching Rocky Juarez with a shot during their WBA featherweight title bout in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Photo: Laura Rauch, AP)
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Keeping with his ongoing theme of “bringing the belt home,” Chris John made his triumphant return to Indonesia on Tuesday.

Chris wrapped up the 12th defense of his World Boxing Association featherweight title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, though a late charge by Juarez put the result needlessly in doubt.

Juarez closed hard, just as he did in their first fight in Houston. Unlike the Houston fight, though, the American waited too long to take control of the bout and ended up losing on points.

While Chris said he expected a tough fight from Juarez, he was also surprised by his opponent’s showing.

“I did not expect that the bout would be tough like that. It was beyond my expectations,” he said on Tuesday from his hometown of Semarang, Central Java.

“I retained my title, and I’m very glad.”

Chris dictated the early rounds, but Juarez gave him a scare in the 12th. The Houston native came close to a knockdown when a powerful shot caught Chris on the chin, but the Indonesian had enough left in the tank to hold on for the win.

The victory was Chris’s 43rd, giving him a lifetime record of 43 wins, 2 draws and 22 knockouts.

Boxing columnist Jeffrey Pamungkas said Chris showed a better performance in the rematch than the fight in Houston, Juarez’s hometown.

“He fought more effectively as he didn’t move a lot. But he’s aging because I saw he didn’t have enough stamina to fight 12 rounds,” he said. “Still, I thought Chris deserved to get the result.”

Chris originally claimed the WBA featherweight title by beating Colombian Oscar Leon in Bali in September 2003. With Chris as one of the longest-tenured title-holders in the business, boxing fans are starting to speculate about his future plans.

A unification bout would seem the logical choice, but those fights would be even more difficult than trying to beat Juarez, who fell short in his fifth attempt at a first championship belt.

Elio Rojas holds the WBC featherweight title, while Cristobal Cruz is the IBF featherweight champion and Steven Luevano dominates the 126-pound class in the World Boxing Organization.

Jeffrey said fans may want to see Chris in a unification bout, but it might cost him his title.

“He will meet a tough fight in the unification, and I heard his management wasn’t interested and would opt to fight in Australia on the undercard for Roy Jones Jr. versus Danny Green,” he said. “I think it’s better if Chris plays it safe in order to defend his title. In my opinion, he’s past his prime.”