Welterweight Mike Jones unworried by next opponent

NEW YORK - A half-hour after Philadelphia welterweight Mike Jones easily defeated Sebastian Lujan by unanimous decision on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Jones' trainer Vaughn Jackson was ready to look ahead.

Inside the cramped locker room tucked inside the bowels of the arena, the vocal Jackson said he had no worries about the next adversary, Randall Bailey.

"He's an old man - about three more years, and he should be able to get a free bus ride because he's a senior citizen," Jackson said of the 37-year old Bailey.

"He might as well give us the title and make it easy for himself so we don't have to take it," Jackson said. "He's a senior citizen. I don't even know why he's still boxing."

The 28-year-old Jones (26-0, 19 KOs), a Frankford resident, will meet Bailey (42-7, 36 KOs) sometime early next year for the IBF world welterweight title, vacated in November by Andre Berto.

In a press release last week, Bailey said he expected that the fight would be held March 3. Jones' co-promoter, J. Russell Peltz, said no date had been set, and it still had to go through a bidding process for television rights.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who also promotes Jones, said the fight will be held in the first quarter of next year.

Nicknamed "The Knockout King," Bailey has earned his moniker as all but six of his 42 wins have come by KO.

"I don't think too much of him," said Jones of Bailey. "He has a strong right hand, and that's about all I've seen."

Bailey's last outing was a unanimous decision over Yoryi Estrella in September.

Jones said he will take a few weeks off and relax with his two daughters before he opens his training camp for the Bailey fight.