Mike Jones vs. Larry Mosley Off Again

By Tim Donaldson

The last time that Mike Jones and Larry Mosley were supposed to meet, Mosley pulled a muscle in his back the Sunday before the fight and had to pull out. That was March 6. Fast forward a couple months. Once again, Jones and Mosley were set to fight. And once again, an injury is keeping the fight from happening. This time, the injury belongs to Mike Jones.

Last Tuesday I spent some time with Mike at his training camp, and everything looked great. I even asked him were there any surprises this time, like the fact that he was hiding an injured hand before the Perez fight. And his answer was no, that everything was good. But that was Tuesday and things can change in a few short days. On Thursday, he had some pain in his left arm. Vaughn Jackson had Mike lay off the sparring and any type of punching to try to let it heal, but Mike kept up much of his other training to stay in top condition for the fight. By the weekend, they knew that they had a problem.

On Tuesday, Mike went to the doctor with manager Doc Nowicki. After reading the MRI, the doctor informed Mike and Doc that Mike had strained his left bicep. Now a strain is the beginning of a tear, and if allowed to go that far, Mike would most likely have to sit for six months. And since this is a muscle and not a ligament, surgery could not be performed to repair it. As it stands now, Mike will have to give it ten days rest before he can start using it again. So the good news is that Mike caught it in time; the bad news is that he will not be defending his title on June 6.

The fight is still scheduled to happen at Bally’s on June 6, but now Teon Kennedy and Lucian Gonzalez will be headlining. Some might say that Kennedy is not ready to headline a fight, but I have seen him in some good fights. Like Mike, he has a good work ethic. He is a determined fighter and a smart fighter. And Gonzalez should be a tough opponent. His record is somewhat deceptive. Most of his losses came early in his career. Out of his last nine fights, he has won 7, lost 1, and fought to a draw.

But the one fight on the card that really has my interest is the fight between Latif Mundy and Patrick Majewski. Both are tough fighters. And Majewski got my attention at the John Duddy fight, winning every round of his fight before getting the TKO victory in the seventh. I expect this to be a true contest for both fighters. And if you like a good brawler, John Poore should not disappoint either.