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Chris John quits ring
Calling time: Chris John, flanked by wife Anna Maria Megawati and trainer Craig Christian, at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday to announce his retirement from boxing
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Calling time: Chris John, flanked by wife Anna Maria Megawati and trainer Craig Christian, at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday to announce his retirement from boxing. (Antara/Dhoni Setiawan) (Antara/Dhoni Setiawan)
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span class="inline inline-none">Calling time: Chris John, flanked by wife Anna Maria Megawati and trainer Craig Christian, at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday to announce his retirement from boxing. (Antara/Dhoni Setiawan)
Indonesia's former world boxing champion Chris John announced his retirement from the ring in Jakarta on Thursday, two weeks after he lost the WBA Super World featherweight title to Simpiwe Vetyeka.
At the title bout in Perth, Western Australia, on Dec. 6, Chris threw the towel in after the sixth of 12 rounds against the IBO featherweight holder from South Africa.
It was Chris's only defeat in his fight record, which saw him win 48 (22 KOs) and draw three.
Chris said that the Vetyeka fight was testament to the decline in his physical shape.
'From the last round, I felt I was beginning to drop in stamina. That may be due to my age,' said the 35-year-old, as quoted by Antara.
He had previously signaled his plan to hang up his gloves at the age of 35. 'This is the time to step back,' he said.
He said he had discussed his retirement with his trainer Australian Craig Christian.
'My trainer supports my decision because of my condition,' he said.
He said he would sort out his future with his management.
Chris stepped into the limelight when he defeated Oscar Leon of Colombia in 2003 to take the vacant world featherweight belt. He has since defended his title 18 times, the second most often in the fea-
therweight division behind Eusebio Pedroza.
Among his opponents were Jose Cheo Rojas (Venezuela), Derrick Gainner (US), Juan Manuel Marquez (Mexico), Roinet Caballero (Panama) and Hiroyuki Enoki (Japan).
After his win over Enoki in October 2008, Chris John was named a WBA Super Champion due to his success in defending the title 10 times. ' JP
