Philadelphia, PA—Undefeated welterweight contender Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, makes his first appearance at Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening, Dec. 3, when he faces two-time world title challenger Sebastian Lujan, of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, in one of the featured fights on the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito card.

The winner of the Jones-Lujan 12-round contest will gain the No. 1 position in the welterweight rankings of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), currently ruled by Andre Berto. 

“This is a tougher assignment than the ones Mike had with Jesus Soto-Karass,” said promoter J Russell Peltz, whose company is promoting this match with Top Rank, Inc.  Peltz was referring to the two victories Jones (pictured) earned over Mexico’s Soto-Karras, the first one Nov. 13, 2010, in Cowboys Stadium by 10-round majority decision, the second one last Feb. 19 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas by 12-round unanimous decision.

 “Mike said that if fighting Lujan over 12 rounds is what he has to do to get a title shot, then he’s fine with it.  He knows what he has to do to win and he knows he has to be in the same shape—or better—than he was for the second fight with Soto-Karass.”

Jones:  “Lujan puts on pressure, but not constant pressure like Soto-Karass.  He moves his head a lot more than Soto-Karass but he throws wide punches.  This could put me in line to fight for the world championship.”

A pro since 2005, Jones, 28, has a 25-0 record with 18 knockouts.  He is ranked No. 3 by the IBF, No. 1 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) behind champion Manny Pacquiao, No. 3 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), No. 4 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Jones currently holds three titles—North American Boxing Association (NABA), North American Boxing Organization (NABO)  and WBC Continental Americas, but it’s the world title he craves.

Lujan, 31, scored a big win in his last fight July 1 in San Antonio, TX, when he rallied to knock out Filipino southpaw Mark Melligen in nine rounds after accepting the match on short notice.

A pro since 2001, Lujan is 38-5-2, 24 K0s.  In two world title fights, he was stopped—due to a badly torn left ear—in 10 rounds by Margarito for the WBO welterweight title in 2005 in Atlantic City, NJM.  Lujan also lost a 12-round decision to lefty Sergii Dzinziruk for the WBO junior middleweight title in 2006 in Munich Germany.

Lujan has won his last 12 fights in a row.

 

 

ABOUT DEC. 3

  

The Mike Jones-Sebastian Lujan IBF eliminator is part of the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito II world championship telecast, which begins at 9 pm (EST)/6 pm (PT).  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 292 million pay-per-view homes.  The telecast will be available in HDTV for those who can receive HD.  HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry.

 

Tickets for the Madison Square Garden card are priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50.  They can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, online at www.thegarden.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.  They also are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing (215-765-0922).