Junior Jones (born December 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2002. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight title from 1993 to 1994 and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight title from 1996 to 1997. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) featherweight title from 1999 to 2000, which is a minor world title.

Amateur career As an amateur, Jones won the New York Golden Gloves tournament twice, winning the finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.Jones, Michael J (May 2013). "Junior Jones; "Barrera is a sore loser..Naz didn't want to fight me"". Live Fight. Retrieved December 24, 2016.

Professional career

Jones made his professional debut on June 8, 1989, scoring a first-round technical knockout against George Young. He won his first 32 professional boxing matches. Jones defeated Jorge Eliécer Julio to win the WBA bantamweight title on October 23, 1993. Jones made one successful defense, but lost his title after being stopped in eleven rounds by John Michael Johnson on April 22, 1994; Jones had previously defeated Johnson by unanimous decision (UD) on August 10, 1989.

More than two years later, on November 22, 1996, Jones scored his most significant victory by handing then-undefeated Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera his first loss to win the WBO super bantamweight title, thus becoming a two-weight world champion.Smith, Timothy W. (September 3, 1998). "Boxing: Notebook; Junior Jones Likes His Chances". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved December 24, 2016. A controversy arose at the end of their fight when Barrera's cornermen entered the ring after he had been knocked down in the fifth round. This forced the referee to disqualify Barrera rather than award a TKO to Jones. On April 18, 1997, Jones won a close UD in their rematch to defend his title.

On December 19, 1997, Jones lost the title after being stopped in four rounds by 1988 Olympic gold medalist Kennedy McKinney.Fischer, Doug. "Best I Faced: Kennedy McKinney". The Ring. Retrieved December 24, 2016. In his next fight, on September 12, 1998, Jones was again stopped in the fourth round, this time by WBC super bantamweight champion Érik Morales. On April 10, 1999, Jones won the vacant IBO featherweight title with a late stoppage of Richard Evatt in the eleventh round."Evatt Fails Against Junior Jones". Coventry & Warwickshire News. April 10, 1999. Retrieved December 24, 2016. In his first defense, on April 29, 2000, he lost the title to IBF featherweight champion Paul Ingle in an eleventh-round stoppage."Ingle survives scare to win". BBC Sport. BBC. April 30, 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2016. Jones won three matches in a row, before losing his final boxing match to Ivan Alvarez in 2002.

He was inducted into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame in 2025.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes56Loss50–6Ivan AlvarezUD10Dec 6, 200255Win50–5Johnny WalkerUD10Aug 29, 200254Win49–5Mike JuárezKO7 (12), Oct 20, 200153Win48–5Manuel SepedaUD10Apr 19, 200152Loss47–5Paul IngleTKO11 (12), Apr 29, 200051Win47–4Tracy Harris PattersonMD10Nov 12, 199950Win46–4Richard EvattTKO11 (12), Apr 10, 199949Win45–4Tom JohnsonUD12Feb 17, 199948Loss44–4Érik MoralesTKO4 (12), Sep 12, 199847Loss44–3Kennedy McKinneyTKO4 (12), Dec 19, 199746Win44–2Marco Antonio BarreraUD12Apr 18, 199745Win43–2Marco Antonio BarreraDQ5 (12), Nov 22, 199644Win42–2Tommy ParksTKO5 (10), Sep 10, 199643Win41–2Wilson SantosUD10Aug 20, 199642Win40–2Orlando Canizales12Mar 23, 199641Win39–2Armando NavarroTKO1 (10), Jan 12, 199640Win38–2Alberto RendonUD10Dec 2, 199539Win37–2Tomas ValdezTKO2Oct 6, 199538Win36–2Jesus ChavezKO3Sep 9, 199537Win35–2Shawn Wilkins10May 19, 199536Win34–2Nelson Ramon MedinaUD10Mar 11, 199535Loss33–2Darryl PinckneyTKO3 (10)Oct 22, 199434Win33–1Orlando FernandezUD10Jun 12, 199433Loss32–1John Michael JohnsonTKO11 (12), Apr 22, 199432Win32–0Elvis ÁlvarezUD12Jan 8, 199431Win31–0Jorge Eliécer JulioUD12Oct 23, 199330Win30–0Francisco AlvarezTKO12 (12), Aug 10, 199329Win29–0Francisco GomezTKO2 (10), Jun 24, 199328Win28–0Juan Pablo SalazarKO4 (12), Mar 6, 199327Win27–0Felizardo CarrascoTKO2 (10), Jan 15, 199326Win26–0Jose QuirinoKO3 (12), Nov 13, 199225Win25–0Eddie RangelTKO7 (12), Sep 17, 199224Win24–0Max GomezUD10Aug 20, 199223Win23–0Arturo NavaTKO1 (10), Jun 23, 199222Win22–0Diego AvilaTKO5 (10), Mar 6, 199221Win21–0Dadoy AndujarTKO9 (12), Dec 12, 199120Win20–0Rolando BoholUD10Oct 24, 199119Win19–0Ramon SolisTKO2 (10), Aug 15, 199118Win18–0Alejandro SanabriaTKO7 (10), Jun 13, 199117Win17–0Jose Luis VegagilUD10May 2, 199116Win16–0Juan Carazo10Mar 1, 199115Win15–0Marcos ClaudioTKO2 (8), Jan 20, 199114Win14–0Claudemir Carvalho DiasTKO2 (8)Dec 13, 199013Win13–0Felix MartiTKO6 (8), Oct 18, 199012Win12–0Adan AvilesKO1, Sep 27, 199011Win11–0Anthony BarelaUD8Aug 5, 199010Win10–0Angel GonzalezTKO2, Jun 24, 19909Win9–0Guadalupe BarajasKO1 (8)May 18, 19908Win8–0Fermin RodriguezKO4Mar 30, 19907Win7–0Angel GonzalezUD6Feb 20, 19906Win6–0Carlos ReynaTKO2 (6), Jan 12, 19905Win5–0Ruben NevarezTKO5Nov 16, 19894Win4–0Charlie Montana2Sep 14, 19893Win3–0John Michael Johnson4Aug 10, 19892Win2–0Quincy Pratt4Jun 23, 19891Win1–0George Young1Jun 8, 1989

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