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The vacant IBF welterweight title fight between No. 1-ranked Mike Jones and No. 2-ranked Randall Bailey will go ahead, but no agreement was made today, so the fight is going to purse bid on January 24.
Top Rank will represent Jones in the bidding, while DiBella Entertainment will be bidding for Bailey.
Jones (26-0, 19 KO) defeated Sebastian Lujan in the PPV-opening bout of the Cotto vs Margarito card on December 3, and while he won easily, it was hardly an attention-grabbing performance. Though he's been featured on some major cards, Jones still hasn't had a true eye-opening win.
Bailey (42-7, 36 KO) earned his title shot a while back, when Jan Zaveck still held the IBF title, by stopping Jackson Bonsu in the first round of an eliminator in Belgium, on March 19, 2010.
Bailey is known for having stunning power in his right hand (and his left isn't exactly feeble when he lands a good hook, either), enough power to beat anyone if he can catch them. Jones will be the fairly heavy favorite in this fight, as Bailey can be fairly easily diffused with the right approach, but there's always danger when fighting Randall Bailey.
The IBF title, if you missed the saga, became vacant when Andre Berto chose to give up the title instead of facing Bailey, as HBO rejected a Berto vs Bailey fight. Berto instead went after a rematch with Victor Ortiz, which is happening February 11 (on Showtime), leaving the belt to be decided between Bailey (who had stepped aside to let Berto face Zaveck in September) and Jones.