Oledong Sithsamerchai said he was pleased to have retained his title but admitted he faded badly down the stretch.
"I felt exhausted after the ninth round and I was also surprised with how powerful Juan was," said the 24-year-old.
"I injured my left foot in training and that flared up in the sixth round and affected my performance too.
"I know I need to work on my power and also get in better shape next time."
Juan Palacios' manager Mario Garcia was fuming after the fight and said he wanted a rematch arranged outside Thailand.
Garcia said he thought Oledong had benefitted from lax refereeing, which had allowed the Thai to win unfairly.
"It wasn't a fight, it was a dance," said Garcia.
"Oledong was holding all the time and running around and the referee should have done something.
"We want a rematch but we want it in the USA or in Nicaragua because this wasn't fair."
Garcia said Palacios had boxed to a gameplan but that he was thwarted by Oledong's actions.
"We knew Juan had to be aggressive and that Oledong couldn't punch hard enough to keep him off," he said.
"But we didn't expect the referee to stop Juan from fighting.
"He couldn't land his punches because the Thai just kept holding, holding, holding all the time.
"That's not boxing."
Oledong said that wasn't his problem."I can't control the referee so what he does is up to him," said the champion.
"I am just happy to get the victory."
Source: bangkokpost.com
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