Indonesia's Chris John retained his WBA featherweight title by fighting American Rocky Juarez to an entertaining draw at the Toyota Center on Saturday (Sunday morning, Jakarta time).
Chris John (42-0-2), making his North American debut, successfully defended his belt for an 11th time. He wanted to put on a good show in Houston to catapult himself to more fights -- and bigger paydays 0- in the United States, and certainly didn't hurt his chances.
Fighting on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz lightweight title bout, Chris John seemed to take control of the fight in the middle rounds, but Juarez rallied to take the final two. All three judges scored the fight 114-114.
Juarez (28-4-1) failed to win a title fight for the fifth time. He lost to Marquez -- who, incidentally, lost to Chris John almost exactly three years ago -- for the featherweight title in November 2007, then knocked out Jorge Barrios last September to set up another title shot.
Both fighters claimed victory afterward, and promotor Oscar De La Hoya said he'd like set up an immediate rematch. Chris John certainly seemed less bruised in the post-fight news conference. Juarez wore sunglasses to hide two swollen eyes.
"Look at my face - it's all right," John said with a smile. "Look at my opponent's face. You can judge."
Marquez knocked Diaz out later Saturday to win the vacant WBA and WBO lightweight belts, plus Diaz's minor IBO title.
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