EurosportIn winning the fight on points, 117-111, 119-109 and 119-109, the 33-year-old Indonesian remains undefeated from 50 fights, with 22 knockouts as he defended the belt for the 17th time.
Billed as the ‘Battle of the Undefeated’, it was the first time Piriyapinyo had been defeated from 45 fights – with 27 having come the way of a knockout.
With the exception of a small slump in the middle rounds, John dominated his Thai challenger in the contest tagged the ‘Dragon Fire World Boxing Championship’.
Piriyapinyo took the fight to John and was aggressive in his approach, but John was relatively comfortable throughout the contest with his jab and faster footwork than his oppponent.
The 27-year-old challenger retaliated throughout the fight, and at one point, left John buckling at the knees following a flurry of hard knocks.
Piriyapinyo attempted everything in a vain attempt to salvage a late victory, but John closed out the win on points as his opponent was left to accept the first defeat of his career.
