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By Chris LaBate
WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins believes undefeated welterweight Mike Jones (25-0, 19KOs) is going to be the next great fighter from Philadelphia. Hopkins has carried the Philadelphia boxing tradition since the 90s. At age 46, the boxer's time in the sport is coming to a close in the near future. The only boxer that Hopkins believes is capable of carrying the strong boxing legacy of Philadelphia - is Mike Jones.
"The boxing in Philadelphia is on my shoulders. There is one guy who really looks promising. I've brought up a lot of guys to Golden Boy over the years. I haven't produced anybody from that side yet. But he's one of the fighters I think because he trains in my gym. The closest person that I see, unless something drastically changes, in his next performance or whatever - is Mike Jones," Hopkins said.
"Forget the fighting. Forget the winning. He trains in my gym. I look too. I see a guy fighting and then come in the gym [in the next] three days. That's what I did. So that's the closest to me. I thought it was my nephew, Demetrius Hopkins. I thought it was one of the Rock Allen twins. I thought it was a lot of people. And I'm not saying they fell, but not everything is cut out for everybody. The closest guy to Bernard Hopkins, and he's going to start his legacy, and he's not with us [Golden Boy] so it's not a biased statement - is Mike Jones."
