Welterweight contender Mike Jones is virtually on the doorstep of a title opportunity. His bout this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden versus Sebastian Lujan (on the pay-per-view undercard supporting the rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto) is an IBF eliminator, meaning the fighter who emerges victorious will face Randall Bailey for the organization?s vacant title.
It?s been a long road (by today?s standards, anyway) for Jones, who has stayed patient throughout this process.
?It?s not frustrating but I?m training everyday and I feel I?m getting better working on my boxing craft,? he told Maxboxing last week. ?I?ve always been a fighter but you can teach a person how to box- but you can?t teach them how to fight. I always knew how to fight but I?ve been learning how to box as I move through the ranks and I?m still learning and I?m still ironing out these wrinkles.?
It was just over a year ago when Jones appeared on another high-profile pay-per-view card against Jesus Soto-Karass, where he learned an important lesson about this boxing business. It was at this level, when Jones discovered that when you hit somebody, he isn?t necessarily going anywhere and you?d better prepare yourself for the long haul. After buzzing Soto-Karass early on in the second frame, the air seemed to come out of Jones? balloon after failing to put away the game Mexican. He was outworked by Soto-Karass the rest of the night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and was fortunate to walk away with a controversial ten-round majority decision.
?The first thing I learned is I had to be more poised,? said Jones, recalling that night in November 2010. ?I had to approach it as a professional fight, not try to go all out, take a guy outta there. Actually respect that the guy I?m going up against because he may stick around if I hit him with a good shot.?
His trainer, Vaughn Jackson, says, ?First of all, [Jones] went out there and hit [Soto-Karass] with a good shot. [Jones] thought he was hurt and [Soto-Karass] was kinda playing possum a little bit on the ropes and Mike kinda, like, shot his load and now he learned from that, patience. Even if you hit somebody with a good shot, you don?t just jump on him. You gotta learn how to have patience and listen to your corner because that wasn?t the game plan.?
While Jones struggled mightily that night, according to his promoter, J. Russell Peltz, it was, ?The best thing that ever happened to him because otherwise, he would?ve gone in there and done it with a better fighter and he wouldn?t have survived.?
His next bout was a rematch against the very same Soto-Karass and this time around, over 12 rounds, Jones handled him with much greater ease. ?I was more mentally prepared,? said Jones, whose record stands at 25-0 with 19 KOs. ?I knew who I was going up against and I know I shot my load in that first fight and I learned a lot from that fight, never to do that again and stay poised and handle the guy systematically.?
