The boxing career of Barry Jones was short lived. 20 fights is not a huge amount for any fighter, but what made Jones's career so fascinating is what he achieved, how he achieved it and the risks he faced head on while in search of his legacy. Jones is a prominent member of the only UK TV channel dedicated to boxing, BoxNation, and is a much respected and almost universally liked pundit who has the rare ability to unite boxing fans opinion.

Go back to October 1992 and a 119 lbs boxer from Cardiff was making his debut in his hometown against unbeaten Londoner, Conn McMullen. A points win over six rounds gave Jones a good footing into professional boxing in front of a home crowd.  It was a city that Jones would box in for 11 of his 20 fights, also taking in bouts around other areas of Wales as well as fights around England and a memorable night on the undercard of Chris Eubank vs Nigel Benn at Old Trafford where Jones again outpointed an unbeaten opponent, this time Manchester's John White.

It was in his 18th fight that Jones reached the pinnacle of his career while fighting at the now defunct London Docklands Arena..  Tough Colombian Wilson Palacio stood in the other corner as the two fought for the WBO super featherweight title on December 19th 1997. 12 rounds later and Jones had earned, on paper, a comfortable unanimous points victory to become a world champion.  

This should have provided a launchpad for Jones to become a huge name in the sport. 23 years old, 17 wins from 18 fights (with one draw) and a world champion. What was more remarkable is that he had achieved all of his wins on points, not a single stoppage victory on his record (although there was one technical decision in a fight that ended in the first round). 121 rounds boxed in 18 fights showed the hard work that had been put in to reach championship status. However there was bad news around the corner, for all the years of graft and hard rounds in the ring, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) were about to deliver a huge blow to a promising career.

With the first defence of the newly acquired title to take place against Frenchman Julien Lorcy scheduled, there was an anomaly found in a routine brain scan. The BBBoC were on edge given the very recent issues of Michael Watson hanging over the sport and suspended Jones from competing.  Seven months passed before Jones's team were able to clear their man to get back in the ring but by this point his hard earned WBO title had been stripped with the promise of another shot when he returned.

A return in 1999 against Chris Williams back in Cardiff gave Jones another points victory and an opportunity to tune up for his title challenge against the now belt holder Acelino Freitas of Brazil, a fighter who had stopped each of his 23 opponents before facing Jones. One fighter with no stoppages on his record; one fighter with 100% stoppage on his record. When Jones then dropped the Brazilian on 15th January 2000 in the first round it was a huge shock. Freitas dusted himself down and returned the favour, dropping Jones twice in the first round himself. The first time he had touched the canvas in his career and the fourth time he had dropped an opponent. The fight lived up to expectations.

 It ended in the eight round, Jones hitting the canvas four more times before his corner had seen enough and halted the fight.  It was the last time Jones entered a boxing ring.

Source: .newageboxing.co.uk