Chris John Retains WBA Belt
Posted: 07 Aug 2005, 11:38
The quiet man of the Featherweight division Chris John retained his WBA belt with a 9th round stoppage win over Australia's Tommy Browne. John is becoming a silent force at the weight and beat Derrick Gainer over 12 in his last defence, Browne had extended WBC champion Injin Chi the full distance last time out. John's success is interesting as Scotland's Scott Harrison who holds the esteemed WBO version is also at Feather. Report Below:
By Paul Upham in Penrith: WBA featherweight champion Chris John from Indonesia put on an impressive display of accurate combinations and elusive defence to record a 9th round TKO win over Tommy Browne on Sunday afternoon at the Panthers World of Entertainment in Penrith, Sydney. "It was a good win. I am very happy," John 36-01 (20) told SecondsOut after the fight. "Tommy was very tough and strong. But I landed some good punches and was able to wear him down."
22 year-old Browne 18-4-1 (7), who impressed many in his points loss to WBC featherweight champion Injin Chi in January in South Korea, was courageous in taking the fight to the undefeated Indonesian. But was just out-skilled by a relatively unknown world title holder who is another exciting addition to the featherweight elite. "I want to thank Chris John for the opportunity, he deserved the win," said Browne.
Dressed in black robe and trunks, Browne entered the arena first draped in the Australian flag to the cheers of his home town crowd. 25 year-old John was in white trunks with red trim, making the fourth defence of his WBA title. Both men jabbed well in the early seconds of the 1st round and then traded body shots at a fast pace. Browne landed a strong lead right hand which stopped John in his tracks momentarily. After losing the 1st round, the champion adapted his attack in the 2nd using a more cautious approach and boxing from the outside. Making Browne miss and then countering him with lighting fast combinations. John's tight defence which his Australian trainer Craig Christian had praised before the fight was evident as Browne found it increasingly more difficult as the rounds wore on to land any punches of substance.
A cut appeared on the left cheek of Browne early in round 3. He kept coming forward but John was outworking him. A good right hand uppercut hurt Browne early in round 4, forcing the Australian to hang on along the ropes. The taller Browne was hunched over as he came forward with his hands held high and was a good target for the shorter John's uppercuts. The Indonesian was moving with more confidence in round 5, the look on his face suggesting that the fight was now safely in his keeping.
Behind on the cards and with John becoming more and more dominant, at the urging of trainer Todd Makelim in the corner Browne gritted his teeth towards the end of round 5 and launched an aggressive surge, working John's body up along on the ropes. The chant of 'Tommy, Tommy, Tommy' came from the crowd in round 6, but John just kept boxing from the outside and picked off Browne at will. John hurt Browne with a right hand in round 7 which forced him back on the ropes. Browne tried to fight his way back into the contest but he was unable to hurt John with any meaningful combinations. By round 9 with his right eye swollen, he was unable to hold off John or launch any effective offence. At the end of the round, experienced referee Stanley Christodoulou was in the corner of Browne looking at him closely, suggesting he had taken enough punishment. The Australian's corner then made the correct decision to stop the fight. "He was unresponsive the last two rounds," said referee Christodoulou. "There was no need for him to get hurt any more, he can fight another day."
Struggling to make the weight at 126lbs, Browne says he will now move up to junior lightweight. "Maybe next time I will win the title," he said. "I worked so hard for this. Any of the top fighters out there at 130lbs who want a fight, I am ready to take it."
"It was a good performance," said John's trainer Craig Christian. "Chris did some things that we were working on like moving to the side. He is going well. Next year he will beat (IBF champion/WBA super champion) Juan Manuel Marquez."
Christian said that John will next fight again in Indonesian in early October.
Also on the card, at welterweight Chad "Hollywood" Bennett won by 1st round TKO over Kiatchai 13 Riantower, while the improving middleweight prospect Adam Vella had an explosive 1st round stoppage win over Bruce Glozier. Undefeated Perth junior middleweight Daniel Dawson won his rematch with Josh Clemshaw on points over ten rounds.
It was another entertaining afternoon of boxing from Tony Caradonna and Shannan Taylor and their Blaster Promotions team, which includes partner Glenn Wheatley and his Blue Corner Promotions. Special guest for the day was former heavyweight champion Smokin' Joe Frazier who proved to be extremely popular with the crowd. Current IBF/IBO flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan was in attendance, along with former world champion's Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu and Anthony Mundine.
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor
By Paul Upham in Penrith: WBA featherweight champion Chris John from Indonesia put on an impressive display of accurate combinations and elusive defence to record a 9th round TKO win over Tommy Browne on Sunday afternoon at the Panthers World of Entertainment in Penrith, Sydney. "It was a good win. I am very happy," John 36-01 (20) told SecondsOut after the fight. "Tommy was very tough and strong. But I landed some good punches and was able to wear him down."
22 year-old Browne 18-4-1 (7), who impressed many in his points loss to WBC featherweight champion Injin Chi in January in South Korea, was courageous in taking the fight to the undefeated Indonesian. But was just out-skilled by a relatively unknown world title holder who is another exciting addition to the featherweight elite. "I want to thank Chris John for the opportunity, he deserved the win," said Browne.
Dressed in black robe and trunks, Browne entered the arena first draped in the Australian flag to the cheers of his home town crowd. 25 year-old John was in white trunks with red trim, making the fourth defence of his WBA title. Both men jabbed well in the early seconds of the 1st round and then traded body shots at a fast pace. Browne landed a strong lead right hand which stopped John in his tracks momentarily. After losing the 1st round, the champion adapted his attack in the 2nd using a more cautious approach and boxing from the outside. Making Browne miss and then countering him with lighting fast combinations. John's tight defence which his Australian trainer Craig Christian had praised before the fight was evident as Browne found it increasingly more difficult as the rounds wore on to land any punches of substance.
A cut appeared on the left cheek of Browne early in round 3. He kept coming forward but John was outworking him. A good right hand uppercut hurt Browne early in round 4, forcing the Australian to hang on along the ropes. The taller Browne was hunched over as he came forward with his hands held high and was a good target for the shorter John's uppercuts. The Indonesian was moving with more confidence in round 5, the look on his face suggesting that the fight was now safely in his keeping.
Behind on the cards and with John becoming more and more dominant, at the urging of trainer Todd Makelim in the corner Browne gritted his teeth towards the end of round 5 and launched an aggressive surge, working John's body up along on the ropes. The chant of 'Tommy, Tommy, Tommy' came from the crowd in round 6, but John just kept boxing from the outside and picked off Browne at will. John hurt Browne with a right hand in round 7 which forced him back on the ropes. Browne tried to fight his way back into the contest but he was unable to hurt John with any meaningful combinations. By round 9 with his right eye swollen, he was unable to hold off John or launch any effective offence. At the end of the round, experienced referee Stanley Christodoulou was in the corner of Browne looking at him closely, suggesting he had taken enough punishment. The Australian's corner then made the correct decision to stop the fight. "He was unresponsive the last two rounds," said referee Christodoulou. "There was no need for him to get hurt any more, he can fight another day."
Struggling to make the weight at 126lbs, Browne says he will now move up to junior lightweight. "Maybe next time I will win the title," he said. "I worked so hard for this. Any of the top fighters out there at 130lbs who want a fight, I am ready to take it."
"It was a good performance," said John's trainer Craig Christian. "Chris did some things that we were working on like moving to the side. He is going well. Next year he will beat (IBF champion/WBA super champion) Juan Manuel Marquez."
Christian said that John will next fight again in Indonesian in early October.
Also on the card, at welterweight Chad "Hollywood" Bennett won by 1st round TKO over Kiatchai 13 Riantower, while the improving middleweight prospect Adam Vella had an explosive 1st round stoppage win over Bruce Glozier. Undefeated Perth junior middleweight Daniel Dawson won his rematch with Josh Clemshaw on points over ten rounds.
It was another entertaining afternoon of boxing from Tony Caradonna and Shannan Taylor and their Blaster Promotions team, which includes partner Glenn Wheatley and his Blue Corner Promotions. Special guest for the day was former heavyweight champion Smokin' Joe Frazier who proved to be extremely popular with the crowd. Current IBF/IBO flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan was in attendance, along with former world champion's Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu and Anthony Mundine.
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor