C

hris 'The Dragon' John retains his WBA Super Featherweight class world title following a technical draw decision in the third round of his match against Japan's Satoshi Hosono on account of a severe injury he suffered from a collision with his contender at Tennis Indoor Senayan Stadium in Jakarta.

'I'm not satisfied with the result. I prepared a lot for the match but I couldn't go all-out. I suffered quite bad injury and the match had to be stopped,' Chris said in a post-match interview in the ring.

'I thank my family, including my parents and sister, who came all the way here to watch the match. I want to thank them for supporting me all this time. I also want to give my thanks to everyone who has supported and sponsored me.

'I would like nothing more than to perform in front of the Indonesian audience again in the near future,' he added, cheered by his fans.

This was Chris' 49th match. He has maintained an undefeated record thus far in his boxing career.

Earlier in the day, it was a different story for fellow Indonesian Daud 'Cino' Yordan, who lost his IBO featherweight class title. The 25-year-old Indonesian was forced to bow out to Simphiwe 'V12' Vetyeka of South Africa in a 12-round TKO defeat.

Vetyeka, 33, overpowered Daud by putting up an aggressive right from the start of the match.

Vetyeka's speed and strong defense outclassed Daud, who showed signs of decreasing stamina, especially in the fifth round.

Australian Referee Phil Austin decided to stop the fight as it was apparent that Daud was no longer able to continue on.

Daud won the vacant title after knocking out Filipino Lorenzo Villanueva at Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore in May 2012. He is slated to move up to the Super Featherweight Class after this bout.

Both Chris and Daud began their 'collaboration' show in Singapore last May, almost a year after they went against each other in a match that was won by Chris in Jakarta.

After they each had their own match against respective opponents, they appeared at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, on May 5 last year, both ending their jobs triumphantly. Chris beat Japan's Shoji Kimura for his 16th defense win while Daud succeeded in claiming the title for the first time with a KO win over Philippines' Lorenzo Villanueva.

They returned to Singapore the following November, again successfully. Chris held off Thailand's Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo for his 17th win and Daud over Choi Tseveenpurev to retain his title for the first time.

Satoshi is Chris' fifth Japanese opponent. His list of past opponents include Osamu Sato, Zaiki Takemoto, Hiroyuki Enoki and Kimura.