By Terence Dooley
If Arron Jones, known as Prince Arron, reaches the level of British champion and beyond he will look back on a career that was almost derailed by some exceptionally tough early matchmaking. Jones took on Anthony Small after only four fights, Small was 12-0 at the time and on the rise; a further setback came in 2007 when Arron journeyed over to Dublin to take on John Duddy, then 21-0, in another major ask. Throw in a points reverse to Danny Reynolds when fighting on the his opponent's home turf in 2006 and it becomes clear that this particular prince was a pugilistic pauper earlier in his career. Arron was forced to travel the country, taking on tough opponents at the expense of his own professional advancement.
Jones, 23, turned a corner during 2008, hooking up with local trainer Bob Shannon and Scottish promoter Tommy Gilmour; the two experienced fight figures quickly decided that they had a rough diamond on their hands. Bob set about polishing Jones' natural ability, turning the boxer into a genuine contender in the process.
This transformation led to a Prizefighter: The Light-Middleweights triumph in February 2010. Arron racked up wins over George Hillyard, former Commonwealth title holder Bradley Pryce and stylish southpaw Brett Flournoy en route to his tournament win. Subsequent wins over Max Maxwell, Tony Randell and Mihaly Kotai have cemented Arron's status as one of the British light-middleweight division's brightest hopes.
Indeed, Arron became the first man to stop Kotai, a former IBO and WBF light-middleweight title-holder, when halting the Hungarian in six rounds last September. Arron hopes that the win will set him up for a big 2011; he was keen to tell me about the science behind the right uppercut induced stoppage.
“I had a look at that kid for the first couple of rounds,” revealed the Droylsden-based fighter. “When I throw the uppercut I want it to land, I don't like it when they're off target and the kid can see them coming so I tried a few of them in the earlier rounds to get my range. They shook him up so he started lunging in – I knew that if he carried on doing that then I'd catch him with an uppercut coming in.
“They complained that it was a premature stoppage but he was gone so the ref made a fair stoppage in my opinion. Kotai had never been stopped before so I wasn't looking for the stoppage as he's got a fantastic record. I knew he was an experienced fighter so I didn't want to do anything stupid and made sure that I kept myself away from his punches.
“It was a sweet uppercut and a nice finish. I've had three opponents in the lead up and all three pulled out. I was told about Kotai a few days before the fight. I saw that he had an excellent 41 fight record [Writer’s note: Kotai slipped to 36-5-1 (6) after the defeat] so it was a fight I was desperate to take. I was nervous but confident that I could beat him and get the win over a former world champion.”
Arron stands tall at 6' 3''; he is a formidable physical presence when he gets on the jab yet also has the tools to trade when the need arises. Jones, 20-3-1 (3), feels that his burgeoning maturity and ability will net him a title in 2011.
“I've stopped my last two opponents and can stop anyone if I land cleanly. I will fight for the British title this year because I'm picking up stoppages and growing in confidence,” confirmed Jones. “The Prizefighter win boosted my confidence and made me a name, my power is improving and my height and reach will give anyone problems. I was turning the last guy, moving him, when he did catch me a few times the punches didn't trouble me – I'm ready for anyone.”
Shannon has been instrumental in the improvement of Jones, not to mention the recent surge of Matthew Hatton and Denton Vassell. Arron believes that Shannon's motivational training regime and eye for technique is behind his own recent good form.
“Oh yeah, Bob is one of the best things that has ever happened to me,” stressed Arron. “I was a totally different fighter when I went over to Bob and he brought in the type of sparring that made me more mature and a better fighter, it has gone so well.
“Boxing is about timing, I was pushed into hard fights early before I'd matured and people wouldn't have thought I was going to go anywhere after those losses but look at me now, I'm 10-0-1 [Writer's note: he drew with Max Maxwell in 2009] in recent fights and my last one was a stoppage win over a decent kid.
“Where in the world do you see a 6' 3'' light-middleweight. I've got broad shoulders just like Tommy Hearns, I try to copy his style and want to bring in some of that power he had – everything is coming together.”
Shannon had a fine 2010. Matthew Hatton brought home the EBU 147lb title. Denton Vassell netted the welterweight Commonwealth belt. Arron's continued improvement is the icing on the cake of a fine year, Bob's best since 2007. That particular year saw Ali Nuumbembe and Kevin Anderson bring titles to Shannon's Openshaw base.
Ironically, Anderson came to Bob after losing his Commonwealth welterweight title to Nuumbembe. The Scot was impressed with Ali's stamina and ability and moved to Shannon ahead of a British title win over Eamon Magee.
In 2008, David Barnes brought the British welterweight title to Shannon's gym, a title that was never lost in the ring. A recent high-profile link-up with Hatton Promotion's means that the coach splits his time between Ricky Hatton's Hyde-based gym and Openshaw's Fighting Fit sweatshop as Bob seeks to continue the title run.
Matthew's recent success has brought a smile to the face of Bob; Vassell, who turned pro with Shannon after winning the ABA welterweight title in 2006, has provided plenty more cheer; Arron could be the next in line. The expert conditioner could barely contain his excitement when speaking about his rejuvenated fighter.
“I was pleased with him last time out. The guy is on his way down but you never lose your experience. No one had stopped him before and it was pleasing to see Arron get that type of stoppage over him. I think Arron did a great job,” mused Shannon.
“We work on lots of things in the gym and that right uppercut was one of them. Arron threw one in the second and got caught with a left hook by a guy who has been there and seen it all. So I told Arron to get behind his jab for a few rounds as the guy had the experience to land shots. We peppered him with the jab. Then I told Arron to plant his feet in the last round to show that Arron was on the way up and this guy is on the way down.”
Still, Arron took a few himself that night, although Shannon believes that this was due to the quality of opponent rather than a laxity in his charge's defence. “Arron took a few but we had looked at this guy and looked at his career and knew it would be tough,” revealed Shannon.
“Kotai has always looked very fleshy but never judge a book by its cover as he has a very good spring and can leap through with fast shots, he is agile, fast and can punch so Arron took a few. We need to see that in Arron's fights, unfortunately, so that the kid can learn things.
“In the gym, Arron is a very, very special and we're starting to see a bit of that in the ring. There's still a few nerves, he's still young and this last fight was a good experience for Arron. The kid was very hurt and I'm glad the ref stepped in when he did because I didn't want to see him get badly knocked out.”
Billy Isaac, himself a former fighter, assists Bob; Billy has often stated that both Arron and Denton Vassell are starting to bring their scintillating gym form into their fights. Shannon agrees with this assessment, he also believes that his reputation as a conditioner and cutsman is now complimented by a growing awareness of his ability to tweak techniques and teach new skills.
“As you say, I make a difference with fighters and do have the eye for it,” said Bob when asked about the impact he has made on Arron, Vassell and Hatton. “People talk about me as a fitness freak, and I still get people very fit, but we also slow things down in the gym and work on technique – it is not just about the fitness.
“I've got the eye for technique. I can use my experience to make those little changes that make a big difference to guys like Arron and Matthew. Arron has done a bit more work in the gym based on the last performance but I think he's definitely improved and on the fringe of big titles.”
Tommy Gilmour shares Bob's belief, the Scottish promoter feels that 'The Prince' has gone from boy to man in recent years and is capable of dethroning current British boss Sam Webb. “I think his last one was the best performance I've seen from Arron,” said Gilmour when asked about Prince's win over Kotai.
“I got him eleven fights ago and things are coming together. He used to have one or two bad habits such as leading with the jab and leaving it out there but he's now snapping it back in and landing right hands, he's becoming a polished performer under Bob.
“Arron is coming into British title contention and is on the back of eleven wins, he's already beaten Bradley Pryce [who challenges Webb in February] in Prizefighter. Arron is a legitimate contender for the British title and will fight for it soon. I'd fancy him against any of the top guys. There's been so much improvement and still more to come.
“Look at what Bob has had to get him through in those eleven fights, there were major problems early and Bob and I talked about what needed to be done to improve Arron; the lad has listened to his trainer and these problems have been eliminated to make him a much better fighter. Look at his confidence going into fights these days. We expect him to win all of his fights. Kotai is a tough, experienced performer and Arron showed him a lesson or two with his movement and accuracy.”
Those stoppage defeats to Small and Duddy left many in the trade questioning whether the young boxer could be brought back. Some felt that he would drift away from the game or slip into journeyman mode. Shannon, however, had always admired Arron from afar. Once the veteran trainer took the fledgling under his wing, Gilmour was brought in to steady the ship and give Arron a run of winnable learning fights.
“Arron had a tough time and that is why Bob brought him to me. Arron needed some TLC and he got that from me and Bob. We've given him a mix of opponents to improve him. When he does get to titles you know that Bob will have him in shape. But people forget that Bob will also make other improvements to bring Prince up to that level of boxing,” insisted Gilmour.
“When the bell rings on his first title challenge everything will hinge on Arron and what he's learned in the past eleven fights. Arron has that hunger, he looks at his career and sees the difference in the two sides of his record; he was fighting Anthony Small when he was just a laddie and is now being moulded into a man. I always saw Arron as a boy until that win over Kotai, in that fight I saw him become a man.”
He added: “Prizefighter was a big, big thing for Arron. I tend to be a wee bit careful in my decisions, if someone would have asked me to put him in with Bradley for a one-off fight I'd have worried but he got Bradley anyway that night and out-classed him so there is no holding him back. Those difficult early years are over for him now. He's coming good at the right time.”
Arron is Boxingscene's British pick for “One to watch” in 2011. We will keep a close eye on his progress throughout the coming year.
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