Daud says he will thrive against Chris

Showdown: Chris John spars with coach Craig Christian during a public training session on Wednesday. The boxer will defend his belt against Daud Jordan on Sunday at Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. JP/Ricky YudhistiraWBA featherweight super champion Chris John says he will keep his title in his Sunday night match with his Indonesian peer Daud Jordan, declining, as usual, to discuss his plans for the fight.

“Let’s see how the bout goes,” he said during a public training session attended by both pugilists at Pondok Indah Mall 2 in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

The match, to be held in Hall D Jiexpo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, will be the 14th title defense for the 31-year-old boxer, nicknamed the Dragon, who has held the WBA featherweight super title since 2003.

“Daud is a strong and fast contender. He is a dangerous man. However, I am confident I will win the bout,” said Chris, who has spent eight weeks training in Perth, Australia.

Meanwhile, Daud was upbeat that the match would not go 12 rounds and said the fight would be a great moment for him as Chris had been a role model since childhood.

“This will be a great moment for me to show that as a rookie I am ready to compete with the world champ,” Daud Jordan told reporters.

Daud said that there was no difference between fighting local and foreign boxers.

“As for Chris, all of his attacks are dangerous and he is indeed a tough boxer. I have been training over the past three months to face Chris and have prepared to go all 12 rounds,” he added.

Not anyone might agree with the 24-year-old’s statement, but Daud has done much quell doubts about his ability in the ring, reportedly learning to fight as a lefty to anticipate Chris John.

“Left-handed boxers are very tough to defeat and I will try to fight left handed when we meet,” Daud told reporters recently.

Daud (27-1-0 with 21 KOs) said he had prepared for the match by training for three months in Kayong Utara BC, West Kalimantan, and had sparred 160 rounds with five boxers.

Daud stole public attention when he beat Damian David Marchiano 19 seconds after the first round started to win the WBO featherweight Asia Pacific adinterim title in December.

Despite the surprise win, Daud refused to use the December match as a barometer for his fight with Chris, insisting he will thrive at the match.

“I’m not talking about winning through a KO. The target is to win the match, no matter what,” he said.

Boxing promoter Raja Sapta Oktohari said that the bout would show Daud’s ability to grab the world title.

“But it also a perfect moment for Chris to prove to public that he is still the champ,” Okto said.

Sunday’s match is scheduled to be aired live by RCTI at 10 p.m. Tickets are available starting from Rp 250,000.