by Hans Olson
In less than 24 hours, Jo Jo Dan and Selcuk Aydin will meet again.
“Jo Jo Dan had a very good week here…he can’t wait to get in the ring with Aydin after 539 days!” said Jo Jo’s promoter Chris Ganescu in a conversation with Boxing Insider tonight. “I believe Jo Jo will be better than Aydin in every department! The only thing he has going for him is the home advantage, but this time it will not be enough!”
Ganescu was up later than the rest of Team Jo Jo Dan, unable to sleep after enjoying a cup of famous Turkish tea. Knowing how big tomorrow’s fight is for Jo Jo could be another reason for insomnia. There is always the chance of Aydin receiving the benefit of doubt fighting at home again, but Chris isn’t worried. He noted that Jo Jo was simply going to “finish his business” with him.
Another note, is that the fight tomorrow evening will have the WBC’s open scoring policy in effect, just as it was for the previous fight. In a WBC press release from Jose Sulaiman last week, Jose spoke of the importance of open scoring. “Announcing the score after the fourth and eighth rounds gives the fans in the arena, those watching on television, and most importantly the boxers themselves the opportunity to know how they stand in the fight to adjust their strategy and efforts,” said Sulaiman. Ganescu agrees. “I support it everywhere, all boxing commissions should endorse the WBC open scoring,” said Chris.
With the fight drawing closer by the minute, let’s take a look at both Jo Jo Dan and Selcuk Aydin, starting with “Mini Tyson.”
Selcuk Aydin
WBC Silver Welterweight Champion
Record: 22-0
Key Wins: Jo Jo Dan (W12), Dzmitry Lubachkin (KO1), Jackson Osei Bonsu (KO9), Said Ouali (W12).
Key Losses: None
Strengths: Selcuk Aydin possesses devastating power in both hands. He has resiliency, a good chin, and there’s a certain toughness about him that can’t be measured. He’s fought solid opposition, and when he decides to let his hands go—he can be explosive.
Weaknesses: A major issue in the first fight with Jo Jo Dan was his inactivity and punch output, something most judges typically look for. When not punching, Selcuk is happy to put up his high guard and block until his opponent stops throwing. Aydin can be somewhat reckless at times, winging wild shots and throwing himself off balance to be countered. He also fouled Jo Jo a lot in the first bout (elbows, hitting on breaks, rabbit punching). Although he mostly got away with it, fouling is something he cannot afford to do again.
What He Needs to Do to Win: To win this fight, Selcuk Aydin will have to be more active than he was in the first meeting with Jo Jo. After such poor scoring in that fight, it’s a safe assumption that the judges will make it a point to reward Jo Jo for his activity this time around. To negate that, Aydin will have to box with Jo Jo early on. For Selcuk, this would ideally set up openings to land clean power shots later in the fight. A knockout is very possible, and certainly something Selcuk would want to erase any doubt from the first fight. He just shouldn’t look for it. If he does, he’s going to get outboxed all night.
Jo Jo Dan
Record: 29-1
Key Wins: Steve Forbes (TD6), Raul Horacio Balbi (KO3), Andres Pablo Villafane (KO4), Iwan Azore (TKO3).
Key Losses: Selcuk Aydin (L12)
Strengths: Jo Jo has incredible boxing ability. Punching in combination beautifully, he lets his hands go, his superior conditioning enabling him to have high punch outputs fight in and fight out. Additionally, he has a good body attack, and terrific ring generalship.
Weaknesses: Sometimes, Jo Jo can be too eager to engage in a firefight, something he’ll need to avoid against a guy like Selcuk Aydin…especially early. Although a hard, strong puncher, Jo Jo doesn’t possess the same one-punch knockout power that Aydin does. If he gets down on the scorecards again, a late knockout against a dominating Aydin will be hard to do.
What He Needs to Do to Win: Jo Jo Dan simply needs to do what he did in the first fight. Outwork, outbox, outfox, and outlast. The only thing he did wrong in the first fight was be the visiting opponent fighting in his rival’s home country.
Prediction: Jo Jo Dan W12 in a close, but unanimous decision.
Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @hansolson
