Philadelphia, PA—Undefeated welterweight contender Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, who faces two-time world title challenger Sebastian Lujan, of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, in one of the featured fights on the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito card, will be in line for a pair of much-coveted title shots with a win on Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden.
A Jones victory over Lujan in their scheduled 12-rounder will gain him the No. 1 position in the welterweight rankings of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), currently ruled by Andre Berto, which could lead to a fight for Berto’s title in 2012. He also might possibly be matched with No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world Manny Pacquiao, according to Top Rank’s Bob Arum.
“There are some guys who we could match Pacquiao with,” Arum said at a recent press conference. “Mike Jones (pictured) and Sebastian Lujan are going to be fighting at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3 for the No. 1 mandatory position against Berto. And the winner of the fight will get to meet Berto down the road, or if that doesn’t come about for any reason, will be ready to meet Manny Pacquiao down the road. But this fight is a very, very important fight for Mike Jones.”
“This is an opportunity for me to show the world I am one of the elite fighters out there,” said Jones, who will be fighting for the first time at Madison Square Garden. “I can’t wait until it happens. I’m in the gym everyday, working hard and preparing myself to be the best out there that night.”
A pro since 2005, Jones, 28, has a 25-0 record with 19 knockouts. He is ranked No. 3 by the IBF, No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) behind champion Manny Pacquiao, No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), No. 3 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Jones currently holds three titles—North American Boxing Association (NABA), North American Boxing Organization (NABO) and WBC Continental Americas, but it’s the world title he craves.
Lujan, 31, scored a big win in his last fight July 1 in San Antonio, TX, when he rallied to knock out Filipino southpaw Mark Melligen in nine rounds after accepting the match on less than one week’s notice.
A pro since 2001, Lujan is 38-5-2, 24 K0s. In two world title fights, he was stopped—due to a badly torn left ear—in 10 rounds by Margarito for the WBO welterweight title in 2005 in Atlantic City, NJ, he lost a 12-round decision to lefty Sergii Dzinziruk for the WBO junior middleweight title in 2006 in Munich Germany.
Lujan has won his last 12 fights.
ABOUT DEC. 3
The Mike Jones-Sebastian Lujan 12-round IBF eliminator is part of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito II world championship telecast, which begins at 9 pm (EST)/6 pm (PT). It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 292 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HDTV for those who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry.
Tickets for the Madison Square Garden card are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50. They can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, online at www.thegarden.com and all Ticketmaster outlets. They also are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing (215-765-0922).
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