This featherweight is the darling of a crowded Asian tropical island nation, and his name is not Manny Pacquiao. Nor is he from the Philippines, that most-boxing-savvy union of nearly 100 million souls.
Chris John is the Manny Pacquiao of Indonesia, a nation of nearly 250 million, and he finally makes his United States debut Saturday when he defends his WBA title against Rocky Juarez in Houston (HBO) on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz lightweight title showdown (more on that Friday). John (42-0-1, 22 knockouts) has beaten Marquez, by the way, though some insist the Indonesian venue play a role in that 2006 decision.
Well, one might expect more strength in numbers than the fourth most populous nation in the world has evidenced. John didn’t have to prove himself in the U.S. to become the biggest sensation in his country since Krakatoa. Well that and that other natural disaster, the tidal wave of four years ago. Where does John rank in international Q-ratings all-time among Indonesians? Heck, Indonesia’s only famous citizens in my time have been President Sukarno and the Komodo Dragon.
Still, if John can come here and beat Juarez, whose career no longer parallels that of his fellow Houstonian Diaz, as convincingly as Marquez beat Juarez in 2007, we’ll have to reckon with the possibility that’s he’s all that. And if another Indonesian who has emerged recently, unbeaten junior lightweight Daud Yordan, then upsets Robert Guerrero in San Jose on March 7, then we’ll be pondering the emergence of a sleeping giant.
Make no mistake, two stars wouldn’t raise Indonesian boxing to the levels long since reached by the Philippines. I’ve followed quite a few, from Flash Elorde to the Filipino Flash and of course Pacquiao, who has transcended all the others and ruled this golden age of Filipino boxing.
It is not unthinkable, however, that John could be doing the same soon for Indonesian boxing – and maybe even then some.
Source : http://www.examiner.com/x-802-SF-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m2d25-Chris-John-poised-for-impact-in-Indonesia-that-might-rival-Pacquiaos-in-Philippines