Former Featherweight title holder Chris John announced his retirement in Indonesia.
“Now that I have achieved more than I have ever dreamt of in my career, I would like to formally announce my retirement,” John said at the ceremony, which took place at the television studios of RCTI, the Indonesian national network that carried his fights. “I would like to give back to the sport of boxing, which has been so good to me and given me and my family a better life, and continue to represent Indonesia as best as I can.
“Most importantly, now I will spend time with my wife and children. The most important title I have held in my life is father.”
“My first defense of my title was against Osamu Sato in Japan. I knew it would be very hard to win against a Japanese in Japan because they are all warriors,” John said. “But I knew I had to represent my people of Indonesia and make them proud. This was a very special moment in my career.”
“My trainer, Craig Christian, he has been like a second father to me,” John said. “His knowledge and wisdom has taught me so much. Every time I fought, I feel like he is in the ring with me. From Craig I learned my three D’s — dedication, discipline and determination. Sampson Lewkowicz, from Las Vegas, he has guided my career, and I cannot thank him enough. Craig gave him the name ‘Picasso’ because in boxing he is a legendary artist.”
“I was 20 years old, fighting Muhammad Alfaridzi at the Indosiar Studio in Jakarta in July 1999. It was for [the Indonesian] national featherweight title,” John said. “I was knocked down two times in Round 1 and I had my nose broken in Round 1, and had massive bleeding. But I would never let this opportunity pass. As my father taught me, success is when opportunity meets preparation, and I was well prepared, and in the 12th round, I knew I had the opportunity for the KO and had no [other] option because so much blood was coming from my nose.”
“I did my best to attempt to equal the record of 19 WBA world featherweight title defenses but lost,” John said. “But that’s boxing. You cannot win all the time.
“Vetyeka is a good boxer, and give him full credit for the win. He deserves it. But I could no longer make the featherweight limit, and it was the toughest challenge of my career just to make the weight to be able to defend my title.”
