Kitbag

John’s jungle prep for 7th WBA defence

 

WBA featherweight champion, Chris John (38-0-1, 20 KOs), is topping up preparations for his March 3 title defence against Jose "Cheo" Rojas (23-5-1, 15 KOs) of Venezuela,. in a training camp located in the tropical settings of Bunga Wangi in Indonesia.

This encounter is the 27-year-old John’s seventh title defence and a rematch of a hotly contested four-round technical draw in December 2004 at Rondong Demang Stadium, in Borneo Island, Indonesia. This time they’ll duke it out in Jakarta, Indonesia.

John, aka The Dragon,” is coming off an intense four weeks training at Harry’s Gym in Western Australia, the base of his trainer/manager Craig Christian. He appeared sharp and focused in sparring sessions with former Australian amateur standout, stablemate William Kickett, and unbeaten fellow Indonesian featherweight, Aleksander Bajawa (34-0-1, 10 KOs).

Both fighters are scheduled to fight on March 3 undercard.

Kickett, a 19-year-old Australian Aborigine, will be debuting at lightweight. In the amateurs, fast-handed Billy claimed an 88-2 (74 KOs ) record, rising to #2 in the Australian featherweight rankings. Christian has high expectations for his latest recruit.

24-year-old Bajawa is an unknown quantity outside Indonesia but many in the South-East Asian country regard him as a solid overall fighter with the grit and determination to develop into a legitimate world class campaigner. His opponent at this juncture is TBA.

– Harry Summers Jun