Randall Bailey Wakes Up, Stops Mike Jones in 11th

Mike Jones sent notice, and I do hope people are listening, that unless he has an awakening he really shouldn't be included on future PPVs. He was ho hum in December on the Cotto-Margarito undercard, and was beyond boring against Randall Bailey on Saturday night, on the Pacquiao-Bradley scrap at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. So many bored watchers reacted joyfully–sorry Jones–when Bailey landed a right uppercut in round 11, and notched a stoppage victory. He'd been sent to the mat the round before, and it looked like Bailey wouldn't be able to close the show. But the oldster did it, at 2:52, of the second to last round, and saved he and Jones a multitude of abuse on Twitter for sending everyone over to watch the basketball game.

Bailey was totally lackadaisacal, looking only to land a right hand bomb, but Jones fought like a cat, nervous and defensive. He wanted to avoid the right hand, that was his first and foremost aim on this night. A welterweight crown vacated by Andre Berto was up for grabs and neither man acted like anything beyond a so-so paycheck was up for grabs till Bailey woke up late. John David Jackson almost had a heart attack screaming at Bailey to throw a left hook.

Bailey is 37, so it is possible that he saw openings but couldn't pull the trigger till the end. The 29 year old Jones has no such excuse. Analyst Manny Steward said sparring at Kronk this week, 30 seconds of it, was better than the fight through nine rounds.

A right put Jones down in the tenth, with 10 seconds to go. He'd never been down before, pro or amateur. The right followed jab, and landed right on his chin, and sent Jones on his butt. A right uppercut sent Jones down in the 11th, for good. He waited for a jab to go errant and then threw the right upper. He couldn't stop crying after the fight. Jones after said he'd be back. He was asked if it was the wrong decision to accept 8 oz. gloves. “No excuses, he was the better man tonight,” he said, with class. He admitted he felt the power early. “No excuses,” he said. Will he be a scaredy cat fighter or a more exciting one in the future? He'll be him, he said, and will watch tape to see how to proceed.