World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight super champion Chris John is set to depart Saturday for Perth, Australia, to train for his next bout in Bali, but already has an eye on moving up to super featherweight this year.
"After this *April* bout, he plans to move to the next level, the super featherweight class," Chris John Management assistant manager Tony Priatna told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
"I'm still considering *moving up a weight class* with my coach and manager," Chris, the WBA world champion in his weight class since 2003, confirmed to the Post afterward.
In Perth, Chris will undergo a four-week intensive fitness-and-strength regime at Harry's Gym, owned by his coach and manager Craig Christian, for the planned Bali fight.
"After one month of training, he'll have sparring sessions with other boxers," Christian said.
Australian featherweight boxers William Kicket and Jackson Asiku and super featherweight William Tomlinson will be his sparring partners in Perth.
As of Friday, Chris' management was still tight-lipped about who would be his opponent in Bali, likely his last bout as a featherweight.
Speculation abounds that Chris may either face Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion, or US-based Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa, the WBA regular featherweight champion.
Chris, however, said, "Maybe not those two boxers," and declined to elaborate.
The WBA allows for a regular and a super champion in each weight division. The latter usually holds a belt in the same division from another federation, such as the WBO or International Boxing Federation (IBF), but in Chris' case, it was conferred for his 10 successful title defenses.
Boxing observer Syamsul Anwar said Chris had a better chance of winning against Lopez than Gamboa.
"Gamboa is a very dangerous boxer; his punches are very fast and they vary, whereas Lopez is on a par with Chris," Syamsul said.
He added that given Chris' age, he should be able to beat Lopez.
"During his last bout against *Rocky* Juarez, he sort of flagged in rounds 11 and 12," he pointed out.
Last September, Chris had a rematch against Juarez in Las Vegas, where he won on points despite a late flurry by the challenger.
Syamsul lauded Chris' consideration to move up to super featherweight, saying that at 31, it was still a feasible plan for the boxer.
"It's all depends on his preparation; even a 33-year-old boxer can still perform well," he said.
"Chris is looking for an extraordinary triumph, as he hasn't found a worthy opponent in his current class. We should commend him for this."
To move up to super featherweight, Chris will have to take on the defending champion in that weight division. Japan's Takashi Uchiyama earlier this month became the WBA super featherweight champion after a TKO of Juan Carlos Salgado of Mexico.
"The duel will be very costly as it involves two champions," Syamsul said.
Moving up a class will mean Chris must relinquish the title he now holds.
His promoter, Zaenal Thayeb, said April's fight, which will be held on the beach, is expected to cost Rp 3 billion to Rp 4 billion (US$320,000 to $425,000), including a Rp 700 million purse for Chris.
Chris won the WBA featherweight belt from Japan's Hiroyuki Enokidi in 2003.
