By Lem Satterfield
Rising welterweight contender Mike Jones (21-0, 17 KOs) returns on Friday against veteran Irving Garcia at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The fight will be televised by Showtime as part of their ShoBox series. A win could open up a door for a potential fall title shot.
According to several parties, there have been discussions about Jones possibly getting a shot at unbeaten WBC champion Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs). Berto's promoter Lou DiBella is hunting for a fall opponent. The fight has been discussed between DiBella, Jones' promoter Russell Peltz, and Carl Moretti, the vice president of Top Rank.
During a conversation regarding opponents, Moretti suggested a fight between Berto and Jones to DiBella. The New York-based promoter is considering the option for the fall. As with everything, the final call will depend on whether of not HBO accepts Jones as an opponent, but Moretti believes the network will approve the fight.
"Lou called me a while back to discuss if Alfonso Gomez would fight Berto, and I told him, 'HBO isn't going to approve that. Don't bother wasting your time.' And then I suggested Mike Jones, and I called Russell about it," said Moretti.
"Lou's considering that fight for the fall, but it's not like it's a done deal or anything else. Mike's 22-0, 23-0. They've shown highlights of him on HBO, and they've seen him before. Clearly, Mike is an acceptable opponent, and that would be a good fight. But it's Lou's call, and it's Berto's call. I think that he would be acceptable for HBO, but it's nothing that we can push right now."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
