Mike Jones vs. Henry Bruseles: Round by Round

Tonight, Comcast SportsNet brings us undefeated slugger Mike Jones against Henry Bruseles. Jones is an up and coming prospect, while Bruseles is most famous for his bout against Floyd "Money" Mayweather.

Fair or not, Bruseles is often mentioned in the list of fights that Floyd took in succession that were big paydays for Floyd but less than compelling matchups. That list includes Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N'Dou, Demarcus Corley, and Bruseles. I am not saying I disagree or agree with the contention that Bruseles was or wasn't worthy of a Floyd fight back on January 22nd of 2005, just letting you know what I have read over the years. But this night is not about Floyd, so we will put that eighth-round TKO aside and view tonight's fight on its own merits.

The first fight being brought to us courtesy of tonight's Top Rank card is a 10-round, 154-pound fight between Saul Roman and Gabriel Rosado.

This fight is being billed as a super welterweight fight. Is there any standard for when a fight is called super welter as opposed to junior middle? Is that a marketing decision, a state commission decision or sanctioning body decision? I have always gone:

130 - junior lightweight
135 - lightweight
140 - junior welter
147 - welter
154 - junior middle
160 - middle
168 - super middle
175 - light heavy

But whatever. On to the action.

Actually, away from the action. A quick look at the sometimes reliable Wikipedia makes me think that it is the sanctioning bodies that name the classes differently. For what it's worth, it looks like the only sanctioning body that would jive all the way with what I believe the labels to be from 105 to heavy is the IBF.

If I am going to sit through a co-main or undercard fight between two dudes I don't know or know little about, this is the type of fight I like to see. There's good action from both men, and they both look to be in shape, relatively skilled, evenly matched and in it to win it. So early round kudos to both Roman and Rosado.

I have been to a good number of fights in Atlantic City over the years. This fight is being billed as in Bally's, but I am not sure if this is actually a ballroom IN Bally's or the smaller upstairs space in the Boardwalk Hall and sponsored by Bally's (which is right next door to Boardwalk Hall). The major fights in A.C. over the last few years, such as the Holyfield, Gatti, and Pavlik fights, have been in Boardwalk Hall's main space, but the Hall has an additional room used for smaller fights, just like the WaMu Theatre does in Madison Square Garden. On TV the space looks fairly small, but completely full, which always makes for good seats for the fans and a fun, loud, and lively atmosphere.

A quick look at the net shows that this fight is actually in Bally's in the Hotel Event Center. Immediately following my lookup, the announcer announced that it is indeed in Bally's itself.

In Round 6, Rosado lands a very good uppercut. There is a lot of blood in the ring right now. Hard to tell if both men are cut or if it is all from the same cut. There was a headbutt to Roman, and blood is streaming right down the middle of his face between the eyes. Very good two-way action and trading continues to the end of Round 6.

The cut was ruled to be from an unintentional headbutt received by Roman. Interestingly, Rosado is cut as well, and that cut was ruled to be from a punch. Roman is mostly coming forward and Rosado is on his bike a bit to start Round 7. Both men are landing significant jabs. Nice right by Rosado to end the round. It moved Roman around a bit.

Round 8 starts with a nice land by Roman. At this point, it looks like anything could happen to end this fight: a decision either way, a cut stoppage or a KO. It's a fun fight. Kudos to Top Rank and their matchmakers for this one.

The Top Rank graphic on the screen at the beginning of Round 9 listed the fight as "Junior Middle" if you care. Round 9 was another good action round. Nothing to be jumping up and down out of your seat about, but just a good honest fight.

Rich has Rosado up by one point going into Round 10.

And the fight is over. Not going to be a Fight of the Year candidate but was surely worth watching.

Rich has it 96-94 for Rosado.

Officially:

96-94 Rosado
97-93 Roman
96-94 Rosado

Gabriel Rosado wins by split decision.

Good stuff all the way around.

Sounds like Jones-Bruseles is up next, which is great.

Jones is a nice 5'11" for a welterweight. The crew told us that Jones' camp says he is actually over 6-foot.

Bruseles is in the ring. Bruseles is on a five-year, seven-fight win streak. His last loss was actually to Money May. Bruseles is still under 30, so this is not like he is an old piece of meat just being tossed into the fight.

Here comes Jones. Jones has a top ten ranking from the WBA. I really enjoy Dan Rafael's ESPN rankings. Jones is not yet top ten there.

Bruseles is 28-3. Jones is 19-0.

Jones is still employed full time. I love those types of stories. Good for him.

Round 1

Jones as expected looks much bigger. Slow start. Both men feeling their way in. Bruseles is unafraid early, trying to come forward and use different levels. Nice jab from Bruseles. Bruseles got a nice body shot in there. Jones being economical. Jones blocking everything for the most part. A jab lands here and there. Jones is just not throwing a lot. Nothing landed of consequence either way, but on activity, I don't see how anyone could give that round to anyone but Bruseles.

Uatu: Bruseles 10-9

Round 2

Jones throwing more jabs in this round. Good right from Jones. Bruseles is undeterred, but Jones is dodging and ducking. Bruseles is having a little success with the jab. Overhand from Jones. Bruseles throws more combos, but they don't really land without Jones getting the gloves up. Even round, but I will go Jones.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 3

Jones double jabbing. Jones jabbing away. Bruseles still coming inside and trying body work. Jones throwing more and harder combos than in the previous rounds. Jones is staying calm and not reckless. Bruseles has a nice right. Jones may be tall for his weight, but he is a sturdy looking fighter. He does not look overly skinny or drained at all.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 4

Jones really opening up to start the fourth. Surprising. Didn't blow Bruseles away. It was flashier though. Bruseles is fighting well, but I wonder if he has another gear. If this is all he has, than Jones can probably coast to the win. As if on cue, the announcers refer to Bruseles as a by-the-book fighter, a 1-2-3 fighter. That sums it up. Jones slowly getting in the power shots. They are not knockout blows, but they look much harder and more explosive than anything that Bruseles has brought.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 5

(Is Clottey Manny's "biggest bhallenge" as the commercials say? Biggest in size? What about Barrera I or Morales I and II? Hatton or Oscar?)

Jones circling and jabbing. He isn't in any trouble. I like the uppercuts and combos Jones tosses in the mix. He has a more varied attack than Bruseles. Bruseles is still trying. Jones has a lead left that isn't quite the full hook but is more looping than a normal jab. Similar round to the previous two or so. Jones is flashier but isn't exactly crushing Bruseles. Bruseles is giving it a game effort but isn't landing anything major.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 6

The announcing crew wonders if Jones will take it to another gear at any point. Right hook lead and left to follow from Jones. I wonder what the punch numbers are at this point. It doesn't matter much, just curious if Bruseles has thrown and landed more. He appears to be a smidgen more busy, but not overwhelmingly so. And Bruseles lands a nice shot. Nothing leg wobbling, but effective. Not sure about this round. Nothing much landed either way of consequence.

Uatu: Bruseles 10-9

Round 7

Jones nicely lands in the opening seconds. The crew still wants another gear from Jones here. Jones stepping forward more and certainly throwing with more authority. Bruseles not getting tagged though. Bruseles has not provided a ton of openings. Jones wings from the outside of the tight guard of Bruseles. I think Jones is trying more this round but within himself. He is picking Bruseles apart more this round. Could be considered Jones' best round of the fight. Not quite close to getting Bruseles out of there, but this round showed the disparity in talent between the two. You never know, but Jones looked so in control this round that it would be hard to see any way Bruseles can take this fight.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 8

The crew has it 6-2 Jones. Jones continuing where he left off. He is throwing quick and snapping punches. Nice jabs from Jones. Nice right from Jones. Bruseles may finally be discouraged. The Jones jab stops Bruseles a few times from moving in. I love that around-the-corner left from Jones. He follows it up with straights from both hands. Another round for Jones conclusively.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Round 9

The crew announces that Bruseles looked discouraged between rounds. Jones slowing down a little bit. Bruseles works the body on the inside. I doubt Jones is in trouble, but he is being careful so far. With a minute left, Jones finally goes combo. Jab from Bruseles. The crew laments that no one is going to say "wow" about Jones after this fight. I suppose Bruseles could have taken that round on activity. He certainly did not have Jones in trouble.

Uatu: Bruseles 10-9

Round 10

Well, somehow I lost my entire post from this round. Anyway, Bruseles came out hard, but he just didn't ever explode on Jones. At one point, Jones threw a huge punch but missed by a half mile. There was some holding on the inside. There may not have been one break-up the entire fight, which is greatly appreciated. This round was hard to score in that neither man landed anything big, or much that wasn't partially blocked. Jones will get the round. Basically even in punch output, Jones a little harder and flashier with some combos. Close round.

Uatu: Jones 10-9

Uatu: 97-93 Jones

Official Scores:

98-92
98-92
97-92

The winner by unanimous decision... Mike Jones!

A clear win for Jones.

Jones says he likes to watch what his opponent likes to do, and he has to take his time in there. He says the training camp was important, and he had a good performance.

He is not disappointed when he does not get a KO. He likes to get the tough rounds in for his future fights.

I liked Jones in his post-fight interview. He sounded thoughtful and analytical regarding his performance.

I failed to mention this at the top, but the announcing crew was Rich Marotta and Alan Massengale.

That's it. Jones has skills and physical tools to work with. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here. He somewhat easily beat a sturdy veteran fighter with much more experience. However, he thought he was going to fight Joshua Clottey instead, and Clottey is another matter altogether. Clottey has fought Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah and Diego Corrales, which is a light-years difference in experience.

I am unsure if Jones is ready for a Clottey-type fight yet, but he has a game that will give him at least a chance against a lot of the top level fighters. I can't favor him over anyone in Rafael's top 10 welters yet, although I have never seen numbers 9 and 10 from Turkey and Slovenia.

Jones is 26 and turns 27 in April, so he isn't out of time, but one would have to think that his big bouts would have to come sooner than later.

Good night.

Posted by uatu