Unbeaten Indonesian Chris John (48-0-2, 22) may well have the longest unbeaten run of any active fighter but the WBA "Super" champion at Featherweight is still a fighter that many boxing fans have either ignored or simply don't know much about. This weekend those same fans who have given up on John's career will again be ignoring him as he defends his title against the relatively unknown Japanese challenger Satoshi Hosono (23-2, 17) in what could actually be a tougher than expected defense.
Although Hosono is pretty unknown in the west the 29 year old dubbed "Bazooka" is actually a 2-time world title challenger and a former OPBF and Japanese title holder. In fact Hosono's only losses to date have come against genuine world level fighters in Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym and Celestino Caballero, both of those losses coming by decision.
Although Hosono has fought at the world level twice in his 7 and a half year career this will be his first bout outside of his native Japan which could put him at a notable disadvantage (despite how close Indonesia and Japan are geographically) especially considering the history between the two countries. Despite fighting on foreign soil for the first time Hosono's biggest issue will actually be with his opponent who hasn't remained unbeaten in 50 fights for no reason. Hosono has the power to hurt anyone in the division though the big question with him is whether or not he has the skills to land on a fighter like John, if he can this bout will be interesting.
For John there is little to really say that hasn't been said numerous times before. In his homeland he's a boxing god. He's been a world champion for a staggering 9 years, he's unbeaten since he turned professional way back in 1998 and he's shown not only genuine toughness but also very solid boxing ability. He's been able to find a way to beat numerous fighters including Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, Derrick Gainer, Juan Manuel Marquez, Hiroyuki Enoki, Rocky Juarez and Daud Cino Yordan.
Sadly for John he's a victim of his own success. Had he not been such a huge fan favourite in Indonesia on television channel RCTI we may well have seen him leaving his homeland more often, to date however John has fought abroad just 9 times with 5 of those fights taking place in the East (and a further 2 in Australia).
For John, now 33 years old his age may be his downfall though it's also amazing that he's managed to remain at Featherweight for pretty much his whole career. Whilst it's impressive that he's made the same weight for 15 years it's also amazing that he still appears to have plenty of miles left on the clock despite fighting for a jaw dropping 407 professional rounds, though this is in part due to his lack of power and it's over 5 years since he last stopped an opponent.
If Hosono goes in there with the idea that John can't hurt him he'll be making a mistake, John isn't a powerful puncher but he puts his shots together excellently and can shake people up with his fantastic flurries. If he can either time John and land a counter right or trap him and unload with the right he has a chance. If John however is able to box at his own pace this probably will be win #49 for the legendary Indonesian who probably doesn't have long left in the sport.
I know some fans can't be bothered to give John a chance though I'd hope that every boxing fan will get to see John at least once as he's a future hall of famer whether fans like to admit it or not.
Prediction-John by UD
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