Among the prospects hoping to reignite the middleweight division is Amari “The Reaper” Jones, who signed with Golden Boy Promotions on Friday, the promoter announced. A decorated amateur fighter and now a switch-hitting professional, the 23-year-old Jones, 14-0 (12 KOs), will seek to make his debut under the Golden Boy banner soon.
Jones, ranked No. 13 by the IBF, most recently defeated the 12-3 Kyle Lomotey by wide unanimous decision in May. Prior to that fight, he had stopped five consecutive opponents.
Jones once had aspirations of playing football, but he gradually shifted to boxing full time. A longtime friend to Devin Haney, Jones has fought on many of Haney’s cards and sparred some top fighters.
“Thank you to Oscar De La Hoya, Eric Gomez, the Golden Boy team for recognizing my talent and giving me the opportunity and the platform to show it off to the world,” Jones said. “Fighters in my division won’t be able to run from the reaper.”
Golden Boy Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya echoed the sentiment, suggesting Jones won’t have a problem matching with the right opponents at the right time.
“At Golden Boy, we hold our fighters to a high standard – and Amari Jones meets every one of them,” De La Hoya said. “We’re confident no one will be able to avoid him as he climbs toward the top of the middleweight division.”
Since the departures of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin from the middleweight division, the storied weight class has struggled to generate exciting matchups. The latest attempt, a low-action summit between Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz, ended in an unpopular decision, a mild scandal and Sheeraz immediately departing for 168lbs.
Trainer Virgil Hunter says Jones has the goods to help fill the void at middleweight.
"Amari is one of the best fighters I have trained since Andre Ward," Hunter said. "Amari has all the makings to become a world champion and stay there."
