Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
American ready for return trip to UK
Battle-hardened welterweight Carson Jones makes a second
trip to Britain on December 8 on the back of his twelve-round war will Kell
Brook in July and hopes a victory over former British champion Lee Purdy will
lead him into a rematch with the Sheffield fighter.
Jones, 26, became an instant crowd favourite with the UK
fans with his no holds barred style as he and Brook waged war for the duration
of their IBF title eliminator at the Motorpoint Arena and now faces Purdy for
the IBF international belt in London.
The Oklahoma man had been linked to a fight with Ricky Hatton
in November and Jones explained to WBN that whispers he was being considered by
the ‘Hitman’ for his comeback, led to his now scheduled meeting with Essex’s
Purdy.
“I had heard a few rumours about me fighting Hatton and was
surely up for the fight,” Jones told World Boxing News.
“So I called my manager to see if he had been contacted by
Hatton’s team and that wasn’t the case, but it sounded like a good idea to us
so he contacted (Kell Brook’s promoter) Eddie hearn to see how to get in
contact with Hatton promotions and he had informed us that Hatton had an
opponent already, but then asked if I’d be interested in fighting Lee Purdy.
“I had never seen, nor heard of Purdy until the offer was
made so I immediately went to watch footage of him and right away I knew I
wanted the fight.
“I think Purdy’s style is somewhat like mine, although I don’t
think he has the ring smarts, experience or power to hold up against me, but
credit to him for taking such a big step up.”
A realistic opponent for the winner in 2013 of the Alexandra
Palace clash is Brook himself as the ‘Special One’ tackles Hector Saldivia on
October 20 and is then set be the IBF’s mandatory challenger to the Randall
Bailey v Devon Alexander victor on the same night.
If Brook can become a world champion, Jones is convinced
that victory over Purdy puts him on pole position to avenge his majority
decision defeat to the fringe world title contender and could then be
considering a third visit to the UK.
“A rematch with Kell Brook is all I have been thinking about
since July 7th and I think there are a lot of questions that need to
be answered from that fight,” said Jones.
“If Brook runs through Saldivia and picks up a world title,
then he will have no choice but to give me the rematch I deserve.”
British fight fans have been nudging Matchroom boss Hearn
via his Twitter account to bring Jones across the Atlantic again and matching
him with Purdy has been seen as a masterstroke by many.
“I have received nothing but love from the British fans
since the first fight and am really looking forward to going back over to fight
Purdy and hopefully a second fight with Brook in future.
“I don’t think wins over Purdy and Brook will come back to
back though as I feel that Brook will have to have a world title before him and
I rematch, but the ultimate plan as always is to win a world title, no matter
who I have to beat.”