Jones retains NABF belt
For “Smooth” Rodney Jones, it’s all about the belt.
The super welterweight champion for the North American Boxing Federation successfully defended his belt, beating challenger Teddy “Two Gun” Reid in a 12-round, split decision at Northern Quest Casino’s Pend Orielle Pavilion during a live telecast on ESPN2’s “Tuesday Night Fights.”
With the win, he moved a step closer to challenging for a bigger belt: the International Boxing Federation world junior middleweight championship.
The main-event fight was not as close as the split decision would indicate – with most observers ringside feeling Jones won the first six rounds.
Scoring the fight at ringside, judge Glen Hamada gave the fight to Jones, 114-111. Judge C.J. Ross saw it 115-111 for Jones. The dissenting judge was Morris McCollum, who scored the fight 114-111 for Reid.
Jones was pragmatic about the decision.
“Those things happen in this sport,” he said. “I know I went out and won the fight.”
At 36, Jones acknowledged there’s a clock ticking down the time he has left at the top of his sport. Holding what is considered a minor belt, the 154-pounder is in a unique position: he must defend his belt while looking for an opportunity to move up and challenge for a world championship.
Arthur Pelullo, the head of Banner Promotions, the company that promotes fight cards at Northern Quest as well as many other venues across the country, expects Jones, now 23-1-0, to do just that – soon.
“Rodney came into the fight ranked No. 10 in the IBF,” said Pelullo, who recently signed Jones to a promotional contract. “This win should move him up to be the No. 1 or No. 2 contender. I think I can get him a fight with Kassim Ouma on either Showtime or HBO very soon. I know that promoter – he’s a friend of mine – and I think we can get that fight done.”
Reid, now 31-6-1, came into the fight looking to strike from the outside, jumping inside Jones’ jab. The tactic met with mixed results. The champion kept his right-hand lead in Reid’s face most of the night.
Reid scored a knockdown in the 12th and final round, shoving Jones, who stumbled and fell to the canvas. Referee Vic Drakulich ruled it a knockdown and administered a standing eight count to Jones, who finished the fight with a flurry.
In a hastily scheduled co-feature, Seattle’s Walter Wright scored a unanimous decision over Darnell Boone in an eight-round super welterweight bout.
Coeur d’Alene’s Shawn Hawk (7-0, five knockouts) was moved into prime time, sandwiched between the Wright-Boone bout and the main event. The 21-year-old cruiserweight scored a four-round unanimous decision over Spokane’s Paul Purcell, who made his professional debut by going the distance with the up-and-coming Hawk.
Spokane heavyweight Chauncy Welliver (25-3-3) scored a six-round unanimous decision over Bridger Bercier (2-2), from Billings.
Sandpoint’s Favio Medina (7-1-1, four knockouts) scored a second-round TKO over Charlie Forteck (0-1) in a super welterweight bout.
Sand Diego middleweight Lamarr Horne earned a unanimous decision over Billings’ Ben Aragon.