Exclusive Boxing Interview: British Light Heavyweight Lee Jones Jr

Jones Hails Smoking Ban

Midlands based light heavyweight Lee Jones Jr., 2-0, believes the impending smoking ban this summer will give people extra incentive to quit, “I think that for those who are almost strong willed enough to quit but not quite, the public ban will give them that extra push to stop,” he said.

“Like all young men, I bowed to peer pressure and I did try it aged around 12 or 13 but I had one and hated it,” Jones continued. “From that day on I never ever smoked again. From what people tell me, everyone reacts the same way the first time they smoke – I honestly can’t imagine why anyone ever smokes twice.”

The Telford born competitor continued, “People continue to smoke even though they know that it causes all sorts of diseases and ultimately causes premature death – if that is not enough of an incentive to quit then nothing is!”

Jones Jr. points to the examples of Mexican Ricardo Mayorga and James Toney as examples of why boxers shouldn’t even consider smoking,

“There are at least two high profile boxers who do smoke – Ricardo Mayorga who is a former welter and light middle weight world champion and James Toney who is a former middle, super middle and cruiser weight world champion. Both have been criticized for their lack of discipline in training and this is why they have never really achieved as much as they could have”, he said.

Despite these high profile examples he believes that in boxing alone, smoking is not that big a problem, “I don’t think that smoking is that much of a problem in boxing as most boxers like to take care of their body and realize how terrible for you smoking is. In days gone by the arenas were very smoky due to smokers in the crowd, and I can imagine that this affected the boxers health, but these days most venues are non smoking, or have specially designated areas so it is not such a problem”, he stated.

Jones Jr. also lambastes the use of any drugs within boxing, but does agree that boxing has a bad reputation when it comes to drug use saying, “I just cannot comprehend why any sportsman would voluntarily hinder his performance and risk his health by smoking.

“Boxing has a bit of a bad reputation with regards to drugs, again I cannot understand what makes a sportsman risk his livelihood as being caught involves at the very least a lengthy ban and could possibly end their career. In all professional sports, particularly boxing it is absolutely critical to give yourself every possible advantage as even the little things can make all the difference between victory and defeat.”

It wasn’t always his dream to be a boxer, despite being a big boxing fan Jones Jr. did began training at an early age at kickboxing. He is also a British Amateur Champion, and has also represented Great Britain internationally winning two Bronze medals at the World Kickboxing Championships.

Jones Jr. did though leave the sport after becoming disillusioned with the organization of the sport as a whole, “I was a little unhappy at how poorly organized and unprofessional the sport was. I began to investigate the possibility of getting a pro boxing license, and it just so happened that at the same time Richie Woodhall was in the process of obtaining his trainers license so everything just sort of fell into place”, he said.

Jones Jr. has nothing but admiration for trainer Richie Woodhall for helping to get his boxing career off the ground saying, “Working with Richie has been very good for me. He was known for his technical ability when he was still active, and he tries to pass this on to his boxers. He is very knowledgeable about technique, nutrition, fitness etc and has a very positive and professional attitude towards training.”

When asked about his preference either amateur or professional boxing, Jones Jr. said he preferred professional but believes they have become very distant from each other, “I do appreciate amateur boxing, but my passion is the pro game so that would be my preference as a spectator. The way amateur contests are scored these days they really are two different sports.”

He also states that boxing like any other sport has become very commercialized over the past decade or so stating, “I think that pro boxing has always been a very commercial sport, but over the past decade in particular there has been an explosion in the business aspect of the sport.

“I think that this is due to the combination of advertising revenues and the advent of pay-per-view television. Top level boxing generates enormous amounts of money; however this cash is only enjoyed by the minority of fighters. For 99% of boxers it is very difficult to make a living through the sport.”

Finally, when asked for advice for people looking to get started in boxing he said, “Never cut corners in boxing as you will always get found out. Also it is important to get the right team around you early on – if you have a strong foundation you can build a tall building!”