Mike Jones:
Giving His Guarantee To The Boxing World

Story & Photo By Tim Donaldson

On the second floor of a non-descript building in North Philadelphia, Welterweight Mike Jones trains for his upcoming fight with Luciano Perez on December 5th in Reading, Pennsylvania. When I arrive on this December afternoon, the gym is entirely devoted to Jones. He is in the ring with his sparring partner, closely watched by his managers Doc Nowicki and Jim Williams, along with his trainer Vaughn Jackson and Rob Acosta, in charge of strength and conditioning. They have been with Mike Jones since he turned pro in 2005, and they expect to see him go all the way to the top.

Vaughn Jackson keeps the training moving along. No breaks. As soon as Jones is done sparring, Vaughn jumps into the ring, first with a pad, moving back and forth, making Jones look for openings, and then he does much the same thing with the mitts. There is constant movement. This day, I am told, is light training for Jones. They just want to keep him sharp and fresh for the fight. And when Vaughn is done, then he returns to sparring. Doc Nowicki explains that, Jones’ training today will be the equivalent of a fifteen round fight, except without stopping between rounds. If he can do that, he should have no problem with a ten round fight. Along with natural ability, Jones gives most of the credit to Vaughn for his technique.

After training, Jones explains that this is much the same training that he does for all his fights. As he says, “If it’s not broke, I ain’t going to try to fix it. I’m just going to keep doing what I am doing. If I am going to change anything I am just going to add on.” Jones runs first thing in the morning, anywhere from five to ten miles, spends the afternoon in the gym, and when it gets close to the fight, he runs on the treadmill in the evenings, sprinting most of that time. “I push my body to the edge,” he tells me.

And Mike Jones will tell you that he is ready for Luciano Perez. “I am 100 percent confident that I am going to walk away with the victory each and every fight.” Not that he is taking this fight lightly. “Every fight that I fight, I take it like it’s my first fight. He’s a champion in my eyes. I got to go in and get him out of there.” When asked about Perez liking to fight inside, or his tendency to throw wild punches, Jones seems unconcerned. “I’m pretty disciplined with my game plan,” he explains, “I don’t really get out of my shell, so I am not worried about all the wild punches that he’s going to throw. I’m just going to counter all of it.”

And to the skeptics that believe that Jones’ chin will be his weakness, he believes that they are wrong. He points out, “I have been hit clean quite a few times, and I have never been dropped. I’m not worried about what they say about my chin. I know that I got a strong chin.” But he adds, “I don’t want it tested.”

Doc Nowicki and Jim Williams are equally confident about Jones’ fighting. They feel that both of their fighters this Friday, Mike Jones and Kaseem Wilson—who has begun training after Jones is nearly done, are boxers fighting “bulls.” However, Doc Nowicki will tell you that Jones will become the “bull.” “He won’t do anything stupid, waiting until he sees where his openings are or what the guy’s susceptible to or even when he comes back to the corner and Jimmy and Vaughn tell him here’s what we see…. And he works on that and he becomes the bull.” They also credit Jones’ discipline. “When he comes back in the corner, he’s just a businessman.” They compare his concentration to a race horse, noting that even after winning a fight, he will take thirty seconds to a minute to come out of his fight mode. “He’s like in a different world,” Jim Williams explains, “until he calms down.”

Jones knows that a win in this fight will position him to fight the top contenders. He is presently ranked 11 by the WBA. Against the more experienced fighters, Jones says, “I think I will do well. I think I have everything it takes to stop these guys or win decisions. I think I am going to do very well when I fight these guys in the top ten.” When asked who he would like to fight, he answers with two names, Andre Berto and Antonio Margarito. “Everyone’s ducking him (Margarito). I would love to fight him. I would like to see what I could do with him,” Jones told me. And Doc Nowicki and Jim Williams believe that he will have that chance soon. “We’re hoping before the end of next year, he should be right there, fighting on HBO Friday nights.” They are looking at few more fights to get him up in the rankings. Then he will be fighting the number two or three, especially those trying to avoid fighting Margarito. Doc Nowicki noted that Cintron and Berto would be good fights for Jones, and Jim Williams added, “We would fight Margarito.” They have a lot of confidence in Jones, noting that he has always done what was asked of him.

Jones says that he knows he will be tested next year. “The only thing I can do is prepare myself the best way I know how.” And with confidence, he told me, “I am going to be ready.” And like any good boxer, he said, “I am always trying to improve.” Jones wants everyone to know, “I’m a young buck in the game that’s soon to be great. I’m not the best right now, but I will be the best. And that’s a guarantee.”