Troy: salesman with real knockout power
Troy Jones…looking for seventh win at the Holiday Inn
TROY Jones returns to our shores with a feeling there is dynamite in his fists after reeling off a hat-trick of TKOs.
He will look to smash through his next opponent at the Holiday Inn Queensway, Birmingham city centre, on Friday (June 16). BCB promotes.
Jones is 6-0, as a pro and, under coach Lee Beard, his last three wins have come by stoppage.
The 25-year-old light heavyweight, who stands 6ft 4in, has been scheduled for a six-rounder, on each occasion.
His last outing took him all of the way to Dubai, where he halted unbeaten John Tillilli in the fourth round.
The previous two stoppages came over Konstantin Alexsandrov, who was down three times before being halted in the third, and Patryk Polasik, during the sixth and final session.
Jones did complete six rounds in his prior outing, though, and had to battle past Pavol Garaj, prevailing on points, 58-56.
He also has two four-round points whitewashes to his credit, debuting against Daniel Borisov before beating Christian Hoskin-Gomez.
Jones was born in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, and grew up in Tamworth, but is now living in Leicestershire. He represented Solihull Boxing Club as an amateur.
His amateur career saw him reach two area finals and a national semi-final, in the NABC and England Elite Championships, while amassing 12 wins from 21 bouts.
Jones said: “At this stage of my career, I’d have to be an idiot to ever be out of camp, so I’m always training and ticking over in the gym. I’ve been getting ready for eight weeks.
“I just upped the training and got more sparring, so I’m feeling fit and strong. I’ve had two four-rounders and four six-rounders up to now, and I’m coming along.
“I had a full camp in Dubai, for the last one, but I’d been over there to train (for three weeks each time) in each of my previous two camps.
“Lee (Beard) went over there to work with the Cubans and where my coach goes, I go. I got an opportunity to fight in Dubai and I was back there from late January to mid-March.
“I’m a salesman for my accountancy firm, so all I need is a laptop and phone and I can do my job from anywhere. My boss (Dave Baldwin) and the company (BK Plus) are great.
“I had a few Cuban guys for sparring and it was good to experience those different styles. Some of them were very slippery, but you get used to it.
“It was a change of scenery, too, and I could train and run on the beach. I got myself in wicked shape and I’ve tried to keep up that fitness.
“My opponent changed, during fight week and he was a big lump who could punch. He was unorthodox, too, and threw shots from his hips.
“I’d say that he was probably the most dangerous opponent that I’ve had, as a pro, in that he came to win and wanted to take my head off. I had to be switched on.
“This is my fourth fight in a row with Lee (Beard) and I’ve had three TKOs, so I’m going for another one. If I do what Lee tells me to do, from the corner, I think I’ll get him out of there.
“This will probably be the last of my learning fights and then I’ll see what route I can take from there. When I step up, I want to stay stepped up.”
*Tickets for the Holiday Inn bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.