by Richard Cloutier
While his status as the third ranked contender in the welterweight division was confirmed by the WBC, Romanian boxer JoJo Dan (27-1-0), who lives in Montreal, has been designated to take part in a championship eliminator. To learn more about it, BoxingScene.com/Netboxe.com spoke exclusively with promoter Chris Ganescu of Gankor Promotions.
Has the name of the opponent for JoJo Dan been appointed?
"No, the committee mentioned the name of Mike Jones, but it can change. The rule will cover the two top ranked boxers and then whoever is available. For now, Selcuk Aydin is the mandatory. The WBC ordered a fight between Andre Berto and Aydin after the optional on November 27 (note: Andre Berto will face Freddy Hernandez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas). Although there are currently rumors of a fight between Shane Mosley and Berto for the spring of 2011, the WBC does not accept this scenario. "
When and where this fight take place?
"I want to organize this eliminator in the spring of 2011. I do not know where. In fact, everything depends on the opponent. Concerning the possibility of the fight in Montreal, I can not speak for the promoter, Interbox. Here in Cancun, JoJo Dan's interests are represented by Gankor Promotions, who organized or co-organized five major battles involving various titles for him since 2008."
How did JoJo Dan take the news?
"He is very happy. He returned yesterday from Romania. He is very motivated and he will be back in the gym Monday. He is very motivated to win a championship very soon!
In his most recent battle fought on Oct. 15 at Bell Centre in Montreal, on the undercard of the clash between Lucian Bute and Jesse Brinkley, JoJo Dan stopped Argentina's Andres Pablo Villafane by KO in the 4th round. Earlier in Turkey, he lost a fight by way of a controversial split decision at the hands of Selcuk Aydin. Their bout had the WBC's silver title on the line.
