Kell Brook vs. Jo Jo Dan Fight Preview
This Saturday sees the return of Sheffield’s Kell Brook, who makes his first defence of his IBF welterweight world title, in front of a home crowd against experienced Romanian, Jo Jo Dan.
The Motorpoint Arena will showcase Brook’s ring reunion after his dramatic points win over American Shane Porter last August. Brook was expected to make his first defence of the title back in December, but that was curtailed due to a stabbing incident whilst on holiday in Tenerife last September. Thankfully, the recovery process has gone well for the 28 year-old, and the focus turns towards Jo Jo Dan, with some potentially huge upcoming fights on the horizon, if Brook can retain his belt. The bookmakers believe that the Sheffield fighter will have a comfortable nights’ action considering his prohibitive odds of around 1/12, with the Romanian outsider rated as a 7/1 chance.
Tough ask
So, who is Jo Jo Dan? His real name is Ionut Dan Ion – which explains the ring name, and is a 33 year-old southpaw fighter who has fought the majority of his career from his base in Montreal, Canada. His professional record shows an impressive 34 wins from 36 fights, with just two defeats – both in controversial circumstances against Turkish fighter, Selçuk Aydin. Jo Jo Dan claimed his opportunity to face Brook by gaining a split decision over Canadian, Kevin Bizier back in December. Standing at 5’11” tall, Jo Jo will have a small height advantage over Brook, but the truth is that the challenger has not previously been in the ring with an opponent of such quality as the British fighter, and it would be a huge shock if the Romanian came away with the victory.
Exciting future
Kell Brook will bring his perfect record of 33 wins and 22 stoppages to the ring on Saturday evening, and will have the backing of a packed-out Motorpoint Arena in his hometown of Sheffield. Brook was at his very best to outpoint Porter in California to gain a majority decision with the judges’ scorecards, and the Yorkshire fighter will be looking to build on that performance here. Saturday night’s bout will be very important to Brook, as he will be expected to dismantle his opponent in front of the watching home crowd. Only an impressive performance will suffice, especially with a string of high-profile bouts that could be made by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, in what promises to be a hugely exciting – and lucrative future to Brook’s career.
Potential mega-fights
If Brook claims his expected win over Jo Jo Dan on Saturday evening, then what can the future hold for the Sheffield fighter? A British mega-fight with Amir Khan has already been mooted as a potential summer scrap, while another possibility is a bout with legendary Mexican, Juan Manuel Marquez. The 41 year-old former four weight world champion has fought the very best fighters in a stellar career, and would still pose a threat to Brook – even at his age. Then there is the also the opportunity to face one of, or even both of Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao after their own blockbuster bout in early May. If Brook decided to take a fight with Marquez and win – then that would strengthen the position of the Briton to face either in a unification fight.
All of the speculative bouts above are still a long way off for Brook – he must put up an excellent showing over his Romanian opponent as a starting point on Saturday evening – and prove he has fully recovered from his injuries whilst away from the ring. The future does look incredibly bright for the 28 year-old, but he cannot slip-up if he is to make some of those potential mega-fights into a reality.
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