Puncher from the Past Doug Jones

Name: Doug (Douglas David)Jones

Born: 27 February 1937 New York

Died: 14 November 2017 Aged 80

Career: 1958 to 1967

Record: 41 fights, 30 wins (20 by KO/TKO), 10 losses (3 by KO/TKO), 1 draw.

Division:  Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight

Stance: Orthodox

Titles: None

Major Contests

Scored wins over: Leroy Green (twice), Von Clay * (three times), Bobo Olson **,Pete Rademacher *, Bob Foister **, Zora Folley*,Billy Daniels, Tom McNeeley*, Prentice Snipes. Boone Kirkman.

Lost against: Eddie Machen*, Harold Johnson **, Zora Folley*, Muhammad Ali **,Billy Daniels, George Chuvalo *, Ernie Terrell **, Thad Spencer, Joe Frazier **,Boone Kirkman

Drew with: Erich Schoppner

**Past/ future holder of a version of a world title

* Unsuccessful challenger for a version of a world title

Doug Jones’ Story

Joines was born and raised in New York and started boxing in 1956 at the age of 19 whilst serving in the US Air Force. In 1956 he won the Greater Lowell Golden Gloves novice title at 175 lbs and the New England 165 lbs title. That earned him a spot at the National AAU championships where he won a bronze medal at 165 lbs. He went on compete at the US Olympic Trials for the 1956 Olympics but lost in the semi-finals to Roger Rouse who won the Olympic berth. Jones was reserve for the US Olympic Team and would have competed at the Olympics if Rouse had to pull out. Rouse did not medal at the Olympics but did go on to lose in challenges to both Dick Tiger and Bob Foster for the WBA and WBO light heavyweight titles. Jones ended up with a 33-3 record as an amateur and had his first professional fight on 22 August 1958 beating Jimmy McNair on points over four rounds at Madison Square Garden (MSG). He was 11-0 by the end of 1959 fighting at light heavyweight and had moved up to ten round fights. On 8 January 1960 he featured in one of three ten round bouts on a card in MSG outpointing Clarence Floyd with Emile Griffith and Gaspar Ortega also scoring wins in co-features on the card. He continued to progress in 1960 scoring a points win over LeRoy Green, twice beating rated Von Clay and coming from behind to kayo former middleweight champion Bobo Olson in the eighth round of the main event on a show in Chicago. In 1961 he put a toe in the water at heavyweight (although only weighing 182 lbs) and beat Floyd McCoy, former world heavyweight title challenger Pete Rademacher and stopped Von Clay. In  December 1961 he was 19-0 and his management took a huge gamble putting him in with Eddie Machen who came in 13 lbs heavier than Jones and was vastly more experienced. Machen had a 39-4-1 record with the losses coming against Ingemar Johansson, Zora Folley, Sonny Liston and Harold Johnson. Jones, 23, was out of his depth and lost a wide unanimous decision. Instead of regrouping his management moved him back down to 175 lbs and in May 1962 pitched him into facing Harold Johnson who held the National Boxing Association version of the light heavyweight title. With Archie Moore having abandoned the world title, Johnson holding the NBA belt and the New York Commission recognising the fight as for their vacant version of the title the Johnson vs. Jones fight was effectively for the vacant world title. Johnson was one of the best technical fighters of any ear but a lack of charisma and the presence of Archie Moore had prevented him receiving the accolades he deserved. Johnson had won his last 16 fights and had outpointed Machen. He was just too good for Jones and in their fifteen round fight won by margins of 13, 9 and 8 points on the three cards.

In August 1962 Joines stayed at heavyweight and gave away 16 lbs in losing a close decision to No 3 heavyweight Zora Folley.  Jones fought his way back into contention with a draw against unbeaten 33-0-3 Erich Schoppner in Germany in September then stopped future light heavyweight champion Bob Foster in October. Jones was to have faced Folley in a return fight but Folley dropped out with a virus and 9-0 Foster substituted. Jones had beaten Foster twice in the amateurs when they were both serving in the US Air Force. In this fight Jones floored Foster in the first and punished him heavily in the seventh and when Foster was reeling under a barrage of blows in the eighth the referee stopped the fight. On December 15  Jones completed an impressive turn-about by climbing off the floor in the first to kayo Folley in the seventh.

Jones was now No 3 in the heavyweight ratings with an unbeaten young upstart 17-0 Muhammad Ali ( then known as Cassius Clay) at No 2 and there was huge interest in a fight between these two. It happened on 13 March 1963 in MSG. In front of a packed crowd of over 18,000 and in a fight Ring Magazine labelled “Fight of the Year” Jones made the better start testing Ali’s chin with a right cross in the first and landing heavily in the fourth and seventh. By the end of the eighth Jones was 4-3 in front on two cards (scoring was in rounds not points). Ali staged a strong finish landing some flashy combinations and took the last two rounds on all three cards to win 5-4 twice (even rounds were not counted) and a way out 8-1 on the third. It was a hotly disputed result. A poll of 25 ringside reporters had 13 seeing Jones as the winner, ten seeing Ali as the winner and two had it even. Much of the crowd booed the decision rubbishing Ali’s boast to kayo Jones in four rounds. Ali had won 14 of his fights inside the distance and no one had even come close to testing him. No one else would run Ali close in a decision fight until Joe Frazier floored and outpointed Ali in 1971.

Jones had one more fight in 1963 scoring a close decision over rated Billy Daniels. He had a mixed year in 1964 starting with wins over former heavyweight title challenger Tom McNeeley and LeRoy Green but then lost a split decision to Daniels in a return and was stopped in eleven rounds by George Chuvalo in October. It was reported that Chuvalo’s body punches damaged Jones so much that he suffered a hernia and did not fight again until September 1965 when he knocked out Prentice Snipes in two rounds. He then scored four inside the distance wins before challenging Ernie Terrell in a fight for the WBA heavyweight title in Houston in June 1966. Jones was still small for heavyweight with Terrell at 6’6” and 209 ½ lbs being 6” taller and 22 lbs heavier and Terrell won a wide unanimous decision.

The Terrell loss sent Jones on a downward spiral. In October 1966 he lost on points against Thad Spencer and in February 1967 was knocked out in the sixth round by Joe Frazier. Jones boxed well but could not halt Frazier’s forward march. In the sixth Frazier connected with a heavy left hook. Jones was rooted to the spot with his hands down and then dropped landing on the middle rope and dangled there. He was brought over to Seattle in June 1967 to face unbeaten Boone Kirkman and won on a stoppage in the seventh round due to damage around the right eye of Kirkman with Jones not winning a single round on any of the three cards before the stoppage. They met again August 1967 with Kirkman winning every round before the fight was stopped in the sixth to save Jones.

That was the last fight for Jones. He had faced most of the top heavyweight in his era usually being smaller and lighter than the best. If he had stayed at light heavyweight, or if there had been a cruiserweight division, Jones could have been a world champion but that was not to be and to the end of his days he still felt he had won the fight against Ali.