Unbeaten Philadelphia welterweight Mike Jones will get another chance to showcase his talents on the big stage when he meets Miami’s Randall Bailey for the IBF welterweight title on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley showdown on June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Right now, I’m in the building stages of my career as far as my skills in the ring, because I feel that I’m a steady learner, and I’m steadily improving my boxing skills,” said Jones (26-0, 19 knockouts), who turned 29 on April 26.
“I’m getting better and better. Physically, my body is there, and as long as I’m at 147 it will continue to be okay. But when I move up in weight, then you’ll see me be stronger.”
Jones most recently overcame rugged Argentine slugger Sebastian Lujan by unanimous decision in December, ending Lujan’s 12-fight winning streak on the undercard of Miguel Cotto’s 10th-round knockout of Antonio Margarito at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
By defeating Lujan, Jones earned the No. 1 spot in the IBF’s ratings and a berth against IBF No. 2-rated Bailey (42-7, 36 KOs) for the belt that was vacated by Andre Berto.
“My goal is to show what I’ve been working on in the gym for this fight, which I’ve known about for three months,” said Jones, who is trained by Vaughan Jackson. “I’ve been working on things to beat this particular fighter. I want to execute it flawlessly.”
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