EXCLUSIVE Carson Jones: Brian Rose is pretty basic and I will have no issues with him

TOUGH, durable and experienced Carson Jones of Oklahoma, 36-10-3 (26) meets Blackpool’s Brian Rose, 26-2-1(8) for the vacant WBC international light-middleweight title on January 23, 2015. Once again the 28-year-old who twice went to war with Kell Brook will fight in the UK, and Jones is ultra-confident he will pick up the win this time.

Q: First of all, how much do you know about Brian Rose and which fights of his have you seen?

Carson Jones: “Honestly, I know next to nothing about the guy, I’ve never heard of him. When I was offered the fight I looked at a couple of videos, but I really don’t know anything about him.”

Q: But you did check him out when you were offered the fight, which fights of his did you watch?

C.J: “Yeah, I saw his fight with Max Maxwell and I watched a little bit of his fight with Demetrius Andrade. He seems pretty basic and I don’t think I’ll have any issues at all with him. Of course I have way more experience than him, I’ve been over there [in the UK] a number of times, and also, he can’t punch at all. I don’t think I’ll have any issues with him. He has a good jab and he’s tall, but there are ways to overcome that [height] advantage.”

Q: You are well known over here and the fans like your warrior style. The first Kell Brook fight was great. Do you still feel you won that one?

C.J: “Of course. I mean, it was close enough to have been a draw, but if I had to put my finger on a winner, it would have been Carson Jones. I think the reason he got it was because he was the local fighter. But that was two years ago and I can’t complain. Now I’ve moved on and I’m looking at this next opportunity.”

Q: Did you retire after the second loss to Brook, in July of 2013 (Brook winning by eighth-round TKO)?

C.J: “Well, I didn’t necessarily retire. What it was was, I was frustrated. A fight in Vegas, not even boxing, it was BKB (Big Knockout Boxing), that fell through. It was a year after the [second] Brook fight and I was frustrated and I announced my retirement. A week later I announced my comeback.”

Q: Did the year off do you good do you feel?

C.J: “Fighters never get tired of fighting, it’s the hard work [of training] and you can feel burnt out. It was a good rest for me, to get my mind right. I still have it. I’ve always been working hard and now I’m looking at making some serious move up at 154-pounds. If the money was right, I could still fight at 147, but right now I’m looking at 154.”

Q: You have boxed at both weights in your career before though?

C.J: “Yes. At one time, I felt so much smaller than the guys at 154, but I’ve matured physically and now I can do much better at 154. It’s always hard making weight. Whenever they tell a fighter the weight he has to fight at, it’s hard no matter if it’s welterweight or if it’s at 154. I can still make 147, but I’d just need more time to do it.”
Q: You have said that Rose is not in any way a puncher and he has got just 8th stoppage on his record. Do you plan on taking the action right to Rose, and bullying him and being too physical for him?

C.J: “I’m too physical for a lot of guys. The fight’s still a long way away, but I do think I’ll be too rough for him. I’m looking at getting the win and then taking off where I left off [at the time of the two Brook fights and the two bouts in-between] when I was ranked quite highly by the IBF. I’m looking at getting myself back in the big picture, at least to the point where I can make good money for the day I do retire.”

Q: You are just 28-years-old yet you are one of those fighters who seems to have been around forever. At one point, over a couple of years, you were having up to six or more fights a year. Do you still feel fresh?

C.J: “That’s a good question. The last fight with Brook, I felt kind of old for the first time, but I guess that was just the nature of the fight. But that time off, it gave me time to get back to being, fresh, I guess. I feel I still have it and have a lot left to offer.”

Q: And training over the Christmas holidays, that is no issue for an experienced pro such as yourself?

C.J: No. In fact, we have a holiday coming up that would have been more of a worry for me if I’d had to have missed it and that’s Thanksgiving. Christmas is not such a feast type of holiday. I will get to the UK on the Sunday, before the fight which is on the Friday.”

Q: And have you any concerns about Rose perhaps getting the decision of it goes to the cards and is close?

C.J: “You always have that in your mind, whenever you fight over there. I’ve been robbed twice – the first Brook fight and then the draw with Dean Byrne (in December of 2012, in Jones’ first fight after losing on points to Brook). The judges over there have never given me a fair shake. So it’s always on your mind, to KO the other guy when you fight in his hometown.”

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