Brandon closes in on a Midlands title fight

Brandon Jones…an important year ahead for the Brummie

LESS is more for Brandon Jones as he belatedly undertakes his seventh pro contest less than 18 months after turning over.

He’s back in action at the Eastside Rooms, on Woodcock Street in Birmingham, when BCB Promotions return to the venue on Saturday, February 25.

Jones resumes his career after a fight date in December fell by the wayside, due to an injury picked up in sparring, at the hands of stablemate Ryan Kelly.

The two Brummies are trained by John Costello, who first coached Jones when he took up boxing at the age of eight.

Jones went on to amass 38 amateur bouts, 30 of them victories, and went all of the way to the 2014 England Junior Championships and the NABC competition of 2016.

The 23-year-old light heavyweight, from Chelmsley Wood, last engaged in competitive combat during October, when he landed his third stoppage as a pro.

There were 12 seconds left on the clock of the four scheduled rounds when Jones put his punches together to force the finish, after a sustained period of pressure.

His maiden stoppage came on his debut, when he dismantled Ryan Bithell in three, and he’s also outpointed Antony Woolery, Elvis Dube and Konstantin Aleksandrov.

All of those points successes came over four rounds and were by whitewash, 40-36. Dube withdrew, after one round of a rematch, citing an injury.

Jones is looking to step up his efforts this year, with area honours as the target in the coming months.

He said: “All in all, I’ve only had about two weeks out of the gym and I was still feeling fit when I came back in because, ultimately, I didn’t fight.

“I split my eye, sparring with Ryan (Kelly). I pulled out and I’m glad that I did, because it definitely could have opened up again. It’s completely healed now.

“I got out six times last year, so I was happy enough with that as I’d stayed busy. I plan to have less fights, with more rounds, in 2023.

“I’m starting with a six-rounder, which I should have had in December, so I haven’t lost all that much time. I could do with two or three of them.

“I didn’t expect my last opponent to come out fighting like he did. In fact, I think I lost the first round, but I warmed into it and then stepped up the pressure.

“I split his right eye in the third round and I caught him with three sets of combination punches at the end. The referee had to stop it, because his head kept snapping back.

“It turned out nice, in the end, I got most of the distance in and the stoppage was a bonus. That was supposed to have a six-rounder, too, but my opponent got switched.

“I definitely want to go for a Midlands title, towards the end of the year. It would be at light heavy, or maybe cruiser. I’ve not looked at opponents, but I know that they are out there.”

*Tickets for the Eastside Rooms bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.