On Saturday night Troy Jones will walk out at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena to make the first defence of his English light heavyweight title. He will be greeted by hundreds of friends and family and, for the first time, television cameras will beam his every move around the world.

 

The unbeaten 26-year-old finds himself in the type of position every young fighter dreams of, but rather than resting on his laurels and believing he has made it, Jones seems to be treating the entire event as just the latest step in his education. 

 

The attitude is a result of the progress Jones has seen since he began working with Manchester-based trainer Lee Beard.

 

Beard has one of the sharpest, most technical minds in British boxing. Jones has a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense fighter who likes to get amongst it.

 

Together, they have formed a solid team but the job has only just started. This weekend’s fight with Michael Stephenson is just another chance to show what they have been working on. 

 

“I'm changing all the time. Honestly, it's been over two years now and I’m still learning things all the time. He was a bit slow with me at first because I was a bit stuck in my ways, just wanting to fight fire with fire all the time,” Jones, 11-0 (6 KOs), told BoxingScene. 

 

“I’m learning every day, learning defence all the time, and just learning how to be a proper boxer.

 

“In Lee's words, ‘You've got to be a box of tricks,’ and that's what I'm trying to be. You never know what they're going to bring. You can watch all the styles in the world, you can watch all his fights, but he can bring something completely different.

 

“If you've only prepped for one thing, or if you can only fight on the back foot or front foot, you're screwed, aren't you?”

 

Jones may say that he is changing under Beard’s watch but, really, he is evolving.

 

There are some parts of Jones’ style that can’t be taught and make up a crucial part of any fighter’s makeup but he is just learning to become more efficient. 

 

So far, Jones has been able to outtough everyone he has faced but he knows that he will need to add different dimensions to his game if he is to continue being successful as he moves through the levels.

 

If and when he does come up against somebody who knows more than him, Jones knows that he has what it takes to grit his teeth and grind his way through some testing moments. But he wants to ration those nights and rely on his improving boxing skills for as long as he can. 

 

“Lee can't build that in there, mate [heart]. You've either got that or you ain’t and luckily enough, I know I've got that,” Jones said. “I know I can call on that if I need to but I don't want to be calling on it all the time. I don't want me going home with fucking bust noses and black eyes.

 

“People think, ‘But you enjoy fighting.’ I enjoy fighting, but I don't enjoy being hurt.

 

“I can go through it. I can handle it. I can do it. But I'd rather go home with no bumps and bruises and be learning the game properly.

 

“If there's money on the line, if I've got to do it and it's a fight, then I'll go to them trenches and I'll go deeper than anyone. But if I don't have to, I don't want to.”

 

Jones’ victory over Willings is the type of result that is missed by most boxing fans but is worth taking notice of. Willings, the former Central Area champion, had given Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker plenty to think about two months earlier and would have hoped that collecting the English title would get him back on television screens. 

 

Jones, however, beat him by smartly dragging Willings into his kind of fight. It wasn’t easy but he managed to box and fight his way to a clear win. 

 

Jones has spent his entire career boxing in conference rooms and event centres but insists that the excitement of boxing on such a big stage won’t see him revert to the crowd-pleasing brawler. Jones has seen that good things happen when he listens to Beard and puts the lessons that he has learned into practice. 

 

He has full trust that if he can separate himself from the occasion, Beard will give him the roadmap to victory. 

 

“I always leave that to Lee. Lee brings the game plan and tells me what to do. I know if I do what he tells me to do, I'm going to hurt that kid,” he said.

 

“If he's as tough as they call him, I don't care about that. But I know that them 10 rounds are going to be hell for him regardless.  If he gets there, they're going to be 10 rounds of hell.

 

“It’s all irrelevant. Defending the title is irrelevant. The occasion is irrelevant. It's all irrelevant. I could fight him in a ring or in the car park.

 

“That's all. It's just me and him in there. It don't matter where it is or what's on the line. It doesn't matter. All that matters is me in there, doing my game plan; listening to Lee and focusing on what he says and what I've learnt in the gym, and then executing it. And, like I said earlier, hurting him.”

 

Jones has the same hopes and aspirations as every unbeaten champion but rather than approaching his career with expectations and ego, he is confident that the rewards will inevitably follow as long as he goes about his business the right way. 

 

“I don't put no pressure on myself. Do I think I'm going to get to the top? Yeah. But I don't put pressure on myself. You train hard and put in 100% in the gym and you get where you get. You can't put too much pressure on yourself. 

 

“‘I'm going to be world champ. I'm going to do this. I'm going to unify.’ How much pressure is that on their shoulders? How much pressure do they feel when the fans are watching them? I don't do that. I just train hard, get a fight, focus on that, and that's it. I'll get as far as I get.

 

“Every time, I'm progressing. And every time, I'm getting the right advice. And every time, I'm going to do damage to them.

 

“So I'm focusing on me in the gym; I’m not watching the others. When we do cross paths, they'll all find out.”

 

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79