Light heavyweight Antwan Jones first walked into a boxing gym at 22 years. Twelve years later he remains undefeated in the professional ranks.

Jones won an eight-round unanimous decision on Friday over Kenmon Evans at Motor City Casino in Detroit. The scores were 78-74 on all three cards. 

Jones, now 34, is hoping to move quickly. The fighter from Toledo, Ohio turned pro in 2019 and has built up an unbeaten record of 18-0 (10 KOs). His team hints at big things to come though they couldn’t be specific on what they had in the works. 

“The first time he walked in the gym he was a basketball player,” Robert Mumford, Jones’ trainer, told BoxingScene. “It was awkward, he was always awkward, but he is like a video game console: as long as you plug the controller in, he will do whatever you say.”

Jones’ ability to be coachable is what has made him an overachiever in the sport of boxing. 

“He defeated the odds,” Mumford said. 

Mumford explained that Jones lost to Khalil Coe and Rahim Gonzales in the amateurs, which he feels was due to a lack of experience. Yet, Jones holds amateur wins over current unbeaten prospects Atif Oberlton and Darius Fulghum.

“He beat people he shouldn’t have been able to beat,” Mumford said.

“He doesn’t have the super talent of some of the guys in the division, but he works harder than they do, so the outcomes are better,” Mumford said. “At this point, he just has to go for it. It is just that simple.”

Evans, 10-4-1 (3 KOs), a 32-year-old from New Smyrna Beach, Florida, might be his last opponent at this level of competition as Mumford is very confident a world-class opportunity awaits his fighter. 

“There are so many good people at the top, anybody could be a champion on any given day,” Mumford said. “At this point and at this age, he is ready for whoever they put in front of him.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.