Jones made his professional debut in 1993 as a welterweight, and was a world champion as a cruiserweight 20 years later in 2013[1] He won his first 21 bouts in Panama, but was then stopped in Venezuela in two rounds by David Noel of Trinidad and Tobago in September 1997.
Now aligned with promoter Don King, Jones fought two light middleweight WBA world title bouts against Laurent Boudouani in 1998.
After yet another split decision loss in 2005 to future cruiserweight world title holder Steve Cunningham, Jones rebounded the same year with knockouts of Kelvin Davis and Wayne Braithwaite.
As a result, he made his first defense of his world title against Valery Brudov in October 2010, scoring an eleventh round stoppage in Panama City.
After over a year of inactivity, Jones was declared the champion in recess after he backed out of a title defense against boxer Andres Taylor of Pennsylvania.
On May 17, 2013, Jones, the WBA World Cruiserweight champion 'in recess', cut and closed the left eye of Denis Lebedev in the first round.