MIKE JONES vs HENRY BRUSELES

Unbeaten Philadelphia welterweight Mike Jones gets an overdue TV date when he meets Puerto Rican Henry Bruseles in a 10-rounder to be televised by Fox Sports Espanol on Saturday night.

I’m not sure that Jones is going to achieve the success of the Philadelphia fighters of the past, either the champions or contenders from that famous fighting city. He is a capable boxer-puncher but can be hesitant when one would expect him to be letting his punches go. Saturday’s fight will give us a better idea of Jones’s potential.


Jones can punch, with 16 KO wins in his 19 fights, but I get a sense that his power is a little overrated. He was extended by the veteran Germaine Sanders and couldn’t get journeyman Gilbert Venegas out of the fight, while last August Jones had to go the full 10 rounds against Lenin Arroyo who, while tough and game, is easy to hit and was moving up from junior welter.

Bruseles, 29, is also stepping up from the 140-pound division and he is best known for losing in eight rounds in a world title challenge against Floyd Mayweather Jr. five years ago.

He has won seven consecutive bouts since then, but this will be only his fifth fight in three years.

Bruseles was a staple on the Solo Boxeo series before the Telefutura network bailed out of boxing, and he has been in some entertaining fights, especially his off-the-canvas knockout win over Wilfredo Negron in an all-Puerto Rico thriller.

Although Bruseles is competent he lacks the little extra to take him beyond the fringe-contender level. He has been dropped several times, and even when he outscored Ben Tackie a couple of years ago he seemed to have a vulnerable look.

Jones should win, but he needs an exciting performance to advance his career. He is the naturally bigger man, significantly taller than Bruseles and the puncher in the fight. There seems no reason for Jones to box a safety-first fight. If he goes out and opens up on Bruseles, a stoppage will be likely — Jones has stopped 10 opponents inside two rounds. If Jones boxes conservatively, though, we could be looking at a decision win.

I think that Jones will give a somewhere-in-the-middle type of performance. I can picture him boxing on the outside for several rounds, then picking up the pace and putting more authority into his punches by the middle rounds. Bruseles looks outgunned, and if Jones doesn’t stop his man before the start of the eighth I will consider it a disappointing display.