By Lem Satterfield
Promoter Russell Peltz confirmed an earlier report by BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno that unbeaten welterweight Mike Jones will return to the ring on June 25 in his hometown of Philadelphia opposite an opponent to be determined on a Fox Sports televised bout that is part of the "Top Rank Live" series.
The 28-year-old Jones is coming off of February's second straight victory over Mexican brawler Jesus Soto-Karass (25-6-3, 16 knockouts), whom Jones defeated by unanimous decision at the Mandalay Bay Hotel three months after having earned a disputed, majority decision over Soto-Karass at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in November.
After having boxed Soto-Karass into a bloody pulp over the course of the 12, brutal rounds of their rematch, Jones (24-0, 18 KOs) is looking to remain active and to earn more exposure, said Peltz.
Jones' consecutive wins over Soto-Karass were contested, respectively, on the undercards of a unanimous decision by eight-division and WBO welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao over Antonio Margarito for the since-vacated WBC junior middleweight belt, and, a second-round knockout by then-WBA interim super flyweight king, Nonito Donaire over then-WBO and WBC king, Fernando Montiel.
In the wake of Victor Ortiz's having dethroned the targeted Andre Berto as WBC welterweight champion, Peltz spoke to BoxingScene.com concerning his plans for Jones' future.
BoxingSCene.com: What are you looking for in terms of the type of opponent and the type of exposure in Mike Jones' next fight?
Russell Peltz: Mike will fight at the South Philly Arena as part of a co-promotion with Top Rank Promitions, and it will be on Fox Sports.
Mike couldn't get an HBO date until the fall, and I talked to him, and we didn't see the point in him sitting out and waiting for all of those months until September.
It just didn't make sense to us. Thankfully, it didn't make any sense to Mike either. You know, he's got to stay busy. He's still learning.
BoxingScene.com: What type of opponent are you looking for?
RS: A quality guy that will test him. The bell rings, anything can happen in a fight. But a fighter who is as young as Mike is in ring years can not sit out six or seven months.
There's no argument that anybody can give me. That being said, every fight is a risk. So, the argument that if we're going to lose, let's lose for more money, you lose, you lose, you win, you win.
BoxingScene.com: Are there any potential names that you can throw at me?
RS: No. No. We really don't have anybody yet. We haven't locked anybody in yet.
BoxingScene.com: What are you looking to do with Mike Jones in a hometown performance after having been on back-to-back, high-profile shows?
RS: This is his first fight in Philly since March of 2009, so you're talking well over two years. I think that it's good that the people in Philly will get to see him.
I think that he feels good about that too. The building only holds a couple of hundred seats, so I'm hoping that we can have a standing room-only crowd that night.
BoxingScene.com: Is there any specific champion that you believe is attainable?
RS: I think that Mike is a fight or two away from fighting for the title, and when I spoke to Mike a couple of months ago, he thought so too, which I was glad to hear.
I mean, so okay, Andre Berto lost. That doesn't make Andre Berto a walk in the park. So, the champions aren't really onn our minds right now.
Because even if you get a chance at, let's say [IBF champ], Jan Zaveck. They're talking about Andre Berto and Jan zaveck. Well, nobody in this country will put up money to see Mike Jones fight Jan Zaveck.
So even if you beat one of those guys -- one of what most fight fans would call 'The lesser champions' -- if you still want to make the big money, you've still got to fight a name opponent.
It's got to be something that HBO or Showtime will pay for, and Mike still needs a couple of fights.
BoxingScene.com: How many more fights?
RS: Well, I don't think that Mike is anywhere close to his potential. I think there's such an upside to his career that he can wait a year before he fights for the title and be more ready and prepared.
Personally, I'd like to see him have at least three more fights maybe before he fights for the title. And this is not a knock on Mike, but there is so much more room for improvement.
I think that his upside is incredible, with his size [nearly 6-foot-1,] and the speed and the boxing ability and the athletic ability and the power.
BoxingScene.com: So the key is activity and exposure for Mike Jones?
RS: Listen, you know what I told Mike? I told him that if I had my druthers, I would go out and rent one of those buses that Dolly Parton rides around the country on?
And we would go to Memphis and Tulsa, Oklahoma and Macon, Georgia, and Jacksonsville, Florida, and we would stop off like they did in the old days and fight the local hero.
We would fight about six or seven times just to keep his name out there and to get him used to different situations and to different styles.
But in today's financial world, you know, athletes don't think like that anymore. They just don't think like that.