By Miguel Rivera

WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (51-7, 45KOs) is waiting for a date and location for his first fight of 2012. Gonzalez will defend the title against his mandatory challenger, Elio Rojas (23-1, 14KOs) of the Dominican Republic.

Gonzalez is planning to stay at featherweight for a long time and this year he wants the biggest fights.

"My desire is to prolong my reign as the WBC champion and face Elio Rojas of the Dominican Republic in a mandatory fight. 2011 was a great year. I'm coming into this year with that same attitude to continue my path of success as a strong champion and I'm willing to prove it to anyone. Since I captured a title at bantamweight, I've always fought the best and I'll continue to do so at featherweight," Gonzalez said.