Otha Jones III explained

Otha Jones III
Weight:Lightweight
Height:5 ft 10 in[1]
Birth Date:6 February 2000
Birth Place:Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:861394
Total:8
Wins:6
Ko:2
Losses:1
Draws:1

Otha Jones III (born February 6, 2000) is an American professional boxer. As an amateur, he won two U.S. National Junior Championships, one U.S. National Youth Championships and represented the United States at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games at light welterweight.[2] Otha Jones' sister, Oshae Jones is also a boxer.

Early life

Otha Jones III was born on February 6, 2000, in Toledo, Ohio. Before dedicating himself to boxing, Jones participated in wrestling, winning three state titles between the ages of 8 and 12.[3] He first got into boxing at the age of 8 after his friend, Wayne "Pretty Boy Bam Bam" Lawrence Jr., also eight at the time, became a viral hit on YouTube after posting a video of himself boxing. Jones said of the video, "We were like eight years old and he [Bam Bam] got a million views on YouTube [by posting a video of himself boxing]. I was thinking, ‘I want a million views, too, man!’. So, I told my dad and ever since then, I’ve been in the gym."[4] Jones is trained by his father, Otha Jones II and his older brother, Roshown Jones.

Amateur career

During an amateur career in which he compiled a record of 283–13, Jones won multiple national championships at the junior and youth level.[5] [6]

Professional career

On January 16, 2019, it was announced that Jones had signed a promotional contract with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing USA.[7] He made his professional debut on March 9, 2019, winning via unanimous decision (UD) over six rounds against Girorgi Gelashvili at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Two judges scored the bout 58–55 while the third scored it 59–53.[8] His second fight came three months later on June 21, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Michael Horabin at the York Hall in London.[9] Eight days after his bout with Horabin, Jones fought Matias Agustin Arriagada on June 29 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, winning by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 60–54 in favour of Jones.[10] The fight was part of the undercard for Demetrius Andrade's WBO title defense against Maciej Sulęcki. On October 12, 2019, as part of the undercard for Dmitry Bivol's WBA title defense against Lenin Castillo, Jones defeated Eric Manriquez by majority decision at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Two judges scored the bout in favour of Jones with 40–36 and 39–37, while the third scored it a draw at 38–38.[11]

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
7Loss5–1–1Jorge CastanedaMD8Apr 17, 2021
6Draw 5–0–1Kevin Montiel MendozaSD6Oct 23, 2020
5Win5–0Juan SantiagoTKO2 (6), Jan 30, 2020
4Win4–0Eric Manriquez4Oct 12, 2019
3Win3–0Matias Agustin ArriagadaUD6Jun 29, 2019
2Win2–0Michael Horabin 1 (6), Jun 21, 2019
1Win1–0Giorgi Gelashvili 6Mar 9, 2019

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Otha Jones. 2018-06-21. Teamusa.org. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20181130181031/https://www.teamusa.org/usa-boxing/athletes/Otha-Jones. November 30, 2018. 2019-12-03.
  2. Web site: Otha Jones III competing at Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 ⋆ Boxing News 24. 4 October 2018. Boxing News 24. en-US. 3 December 2019.
  3. Web site: Otha Jones is using an old-school way up the boxing ladder. Santoliquito. Joseph. July 1, 2019. The Ring. December 4, 2019.
  4. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: Otha Jones III - "Boxing in Black and White...". Scott. Craig. September 24, 2019. Boxing Social. en-GB. December 3, 2019.
  5. Web site: Otha Jones III bids for second victory in a week on Matchroom bill. RINGSIDE. June 28, 2019. World Boxing News. December 4, 2019.
  6. Web site: Otha Jones "Humbled" To Share Card With Ring Idol Andrade. Donovan. Jake. June 29, 2019. BoxingScene.com. en-us. December 4, 2019.
  7. Web site: Otha Jones III signs with Matchroom Boxing USA. January 16, 2019. Matchroom Boxing. en-US. December 3, 2019.
  8. Web site: star Otha Jones III victorious in pro debut. Raspanti. John. March 12, 2019. SecondsOut Boxing News. En. December 3, 2019.
  9. Web site: BoxRec: Otha Jones III vs. Michael Horabin. boxrec.com. December 3, 2019.
  10. Web site: BoxRec: Otha Jones III vs. Matias Agustin Arriagada. boxrec.com. December 3, 2019.
  11. Web site: Otha Jones, Biyarslanov Pick Up Decision Wins in Chicago. Donovan. Jake. October 12, 2019. BoxingScene.com. en-us. December 3, 2019.