Coming back from a twenty four month layoff after losing to Randall Bailey in June of 2012, in a fight for the vacant IBF Welterweight Title, Mike Jones returned to the ring against Jaime Herrera tonight in Atlantic City.
Jones started the fight cautiously as usual, flicking out his left jab and trying to feel his way through the fight. He woke up a bit after Herrera landed a few right hands and started coming back with some of his own, becoming more aggressive.
In the second round Herrera was landing right uppercuts and left hooks up close and was doing some good body work inside. Jones landed some solid body shots as well. Herrera kept coming forward and occasionally he would get inside but there were times that Jones would catch him coming in with the left hook. At the end of the round Jones landed a huge left hook that sent Herrera down to the canvass. Herrera got up and fell back down and got up again, as he took an eight count from the referee and wobbled back to his corner. He was allowed to continue.
Jones came out aggressively in the third looking for the finish and landed another left hook that sent Herrera to the canvas once again. Jones had continued success with the hook and hurt Herrera with it several times in the round. It looked like the end was near for Herrera , but he amazingly got his second wind and started coming forward. He started to pressure Jones and landed solid right hands that were backing him up. Jones was cut over his right eye in what appeared to be caused by a head butt. Herrera seemed to be energized by the sight of Jones’ blood. The fight started to turn. Jones was caught very cleanly with a right hand that bloodied his nose at the end of the round. Jones went back to his corner bleeding from his right eye and his nose.
It was all Herrera from here on out. He smoothered Jones and knocked out his mouthpiece in the fourth after landing another monstrous right hand. Jones’ legs were gone, and he had nothing left to keep Herrera off him. Herrera was teeing off on Jones with uppercuts, hooks, and right hands and appeared to hurt him with every punch. The end was inevitable.
Jones almost went down in the sixth after being caught by a right hand that buckled him, leaving his right knee inches from the canvas. Later in the round Herrera landed a right uppercut that again almost knocked Jones down. Jones eventually went down due to sheer exhaustion, but it was ruled a push down by the referee. Herrera backed him up against the ropes at the end of the round and was teeing off on him
Herrera came out looking to finish Jones in the seventh and immediately jumped all over him landing several combinations. Jones was practically out on his feet, bleeding from both eyes, nose and mouth. Herrera was landing everything at will at this point with Jones so weak, he couldn’t do anything to stop him. Jones spit his mouth piece out at the end of the round.
The doctor stopped the fight not allowing Jones to come out for eighth, and Herrera scores a monumental upset, coming back after suffering two knockdowns.
In the co-feature Thomas Lamanna scored a unanimous decision Jamaal Davis.