Jakarta(The Jakarta Post)- Indonesian boxer Chris John says he wants to round out his representation of the country the next time he steps into the ring for future title defenses.The undefeated WBA featherweight champion says he is looking to promote batik as Indonesian cultural heritage by wearing a batik-style fighting robe.
On Friday, UNESCO declared batik an intangible cultural heritage from Indonesia.
"Why not design a batik robe? It'll look great, won't it?" Chris told The Jakarta Post on Friday in his hometown of Semarang.
"This is what I can do to promote batik. During my title defense, I'll wear batik in true Indonesian style."
Chris last defended his title in a rematch against Rocky Juarez in Las Vegas on Sept. 19, notching up his 43rd win (22 by KO) from 45 matches.
Chris said he wore batik from Banjarmasin at a press conference ahead of the Juarez fight.
"Our trip was part of the Visit Indonesia promotional campaign," he explained. "Next time I'll wear batik all the way to the ring."
Chris is taking a well-deserved break in Semarang with his wife, Anna Maria Megawati, and their two daughters, after the gruelling Juarez fight that represented his 12th straight successful title de-fense.
"I still need time to heal the inner injuries," Chris said.
"I'm doing light training to maintain my condition."
Chris was rocked by a final-round flurry from Juarez, but hung on for the unanimous decision, thanks to his early-round domination.
He said it was one of toughest fights yet.
"His pounces are powerful, I don't know what I was doing trading blows in the last round," he said.
"I was fortunate not to fall. Otherwise the points I'd collected would've meant nothing. God shone his favor on me once again.
"My coach had told me to keep my distance from Juarez because I was winning on points. But I really wanted to knock him, and he proved to have good stamina."
Chris said he had no idea yet who to take on next.
"I have to talk about it with the team. I don't fear whoever I meet in the ring, including those from other world boxing bodies," he said.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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