It’s all change for Troy Jones as he returns to the ring after a seven-month absence.
His reappearance comes at the Eastside Rooms, on Woodcock Street in Birmingham, as part of a Friday fight night that’s set for September 30.
The 24-year-old super middleweight has switched coaches since his last pro contest, changing to Lee Beard and assistant trainer Johno Williams in Manchester.
Brummie Jones has been on the move and now lives in Leicestershire, having been born in Chelmsley Wood and growing up in Tamworth.
He’s become engaged to be married, too, and lives with his fiance Demi, but still works in the West Midlands for accountants BK Plus.
Jones’ pro career still stands at 3-0, having completed a six-rounder for the first time, in his last outing, with a points success over Pavol Garaj.
He was in cruise control, until the latter stages, which turned into more of a brawl. Jones’ hand was still raised, with a two-round advantage, through a 58-56 scoreline.
That added to two four-round points whitewashes last year starting with his debut, against Daniel Borisov, before thwarting Christian Hoskin-Gomez, both by a 40-36 margin.
Jones said: “I’m looking to do the six rounds, in good fashion, and get out again before Christmas. I could have boxed before now, but I was transitioning into having a new coach.
“I got talking to Lee (Beard) because he bought a pet from my dad (Andy Jones). He breeds XL Bully dogs. We all carried on speaking from there.
“He’s a top-class coach. With him in my corner and what he’s put into me, since we have been working together, I feel like I can box as well as fight now.
“My dad still does strength and conditioning with me, on Fridays and Saturdays. He’s 52 and has been in the gym since he was about 20, so he’s in wicked shape.
“Lee comes down here and I make the trip up to Manchester, twice a week, so that takes care of four days and then I’ve got my running and the extra bits with my dad.
“I’ve got a good routine and I know what I’m doing on set days, which helps with my job. I’m a salesman for an accountancy firm (BK Plus) and I’ve been there for a few years now.
“The company and my boss (Dave Baldwin) are very supportive and I’ve got a great work-life balance. I’ve moved house and got engaged, too, so it’s all going on!
“We have gone to a village (in Leicestershire), but I’ll always be a Brummie lad, at heart, and it’s great to be boxing in Birmingham again.
“I want to showcase how much my skills have improved, you can never take the fighter out of me but you will see the difference on the night.
“I’ve already done a six-rounder and I wasn’t happy with the final score, although I have to admit that I got drawn into a scrap towards the end.
“I wouldn’t have given him (opponent) any more than one round, the referee gave him two. I’m learning every day and I’ve taken something from that experience.”
Tickets for the Eastside Rooms bill are available, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet and waitress service, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
