All smiles until the bell rings resulted in a “too sweet” victory for Taylor-bred boxer Destiny Jones.
On Saturday, Oct. 8, Jones scored a unanimous victory over Iranda Paola Torres in San Antonio. This was Jones’ fourth professional fight, which brings her record to 3-1.
“I was completely proud of her,” said David Watson, Jones’ trainer. “For a girl to learn a new style of fighting and to fight in front of all of those people, all of her family and hold a game plan together for six rounds when the girl is pressuring you, showed me incredible discipline and maturity for a 23-year-old fighter.”
Jones won the judges’ decision 58-56, 59-55, 59-55 over Torres, who came into the bout 13-7-1. Torres was the more experienced fighter and had a slight height and reach advantage over Jones. However, with a different style and the crowd behind her, Jones was too much for her opponent.
“She controlled the fight with the jab. She mixed hand-speed with footwork and head movement to dominate the girl,” Watson said.
After a loss in August to the taller Stephanie Han, Jones had to make adjustments for her recent fight. Watson said he completely changed Jones’ strategy and technique as a fighter to prepare for the more experienced Torres.
“She went from being the smaller fighter trying to get inside,” he said after her previous fight against a taller fighter. “I switched her into a boxer to where she can get in and out safely and not get hit and dominate the fight, control the opponent.”
Watson said the plan is to continue forward with the oldschool style of boxing, which she learned eight weeks ago.
“What you saw in that ring was taking somebody eight weeks ago and completely changing her,” Watson said. “That’s how talented she is.”
Not only did she respond to the training, but Jones also bought-in to the change in style.
“After the fight, she just convinced herself how well boxing works,” Watson said about Jones’ mentality after her win. “She realizes that she has the tools and the athletic ability to be a great boxer, not just a great fighter.”
After the fight, people who watched the fight told Watson how talented Jones is and that she is a future world champion. The route to a title fight is faster for women, and Watson expects Jones to be on that path sooner than later.
“In 2023, we’ll be fighting for a world title one way or another,” Watson said.
