Mexican bad boy Antonio Margarito will continue his comeback on September 2 in Chihuahua, Mexico, the former welterweight ruler set to face teak-tough fringe contender Carson Jones. Jones, the owner of one very hard-earned 40-11-3(30) pro record, announced the fight on his FaceBook page, vowing to his fans that he will beat Margarito up (the bout is also up on BoxRec).
Margarito, 40-8(27) and nine years older than Jones at age 39, is currently 2-0(0) into the comeback he launched in March of 2016, some four years after his damaging loss to Miguel Cotto (in a return of the controversial 2008 win that the Mexican scored). But Margarito has not looked good, at all. “The Tijuana Tornado” laboured to close decision wins over Jorge Paez Junior and Ramon Alvarez, looking slow and easy to hit in each bout.
Now boxing at around the 154 pound mark, Margarito may well see his comeback end in the Jones fight. Jones, one of the most experienced and durably-proven fringe contenders on the scene today, has pulled off upsets before, and whilst fighting in the backyard of his opponent. Jones gave Kell Brook sheer hell back in 2012, dropping a majority verdict after 12 bloody and tough rounds, and he recently ruined the unbeaten record of another UK fighter in Ben Hall, who he stopped in November of last year.
Rarely stopped (just three times during his 17-year pro career) Jones is always in shape, he is always ready to pick up his passport and he has all the tools needed to either decision the sluggish-looking Margarito we saw against Alvarez and Paez, or maybe even stop him. Jones is no spring chicken in terms of mileage picked up in tough fights and it is possible any fight could see him begin to show his wear and tear in a serious way, but if this doesn’t happen in September Margarito will likely be in trouble.
It won’t be one for the purists (and there are plenty of people who strongly feel Margarito should not even be boxing today, for more than one reason), but Jones-Margarito could well be a savagely entertaining rumble.
Jones is the pick to win from this end.