By Jason Kim: Undefeated welterweight contender Mike Jones (22-0, 18 KO’s) has been added to the December 11th Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito undercard at the Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. Jones, 27, will be matched against fellow Top Rank fighter Jesus Soto Karass (24-4-3, 16 KO’s) in a 10 round bout to bring some more excitement to what appears to be a card filled with a lot of mismatches. This fight likely be a mismatched as well, because Karass , ranked #8 WBC, 12 IBF, is a pretty limited fighter and was recently handled by Alfonso Gomez in a 6th round technical decision.

Both of these fighters are flawed. Jones can punch a little, but is slow in terms of hand speed and fights as if he has no flexibility in his upper body. He reminds me of a weight lifter in the ring because he’s really tight and has limited range of motion. Thus far, Jones has been matched against beatable opponents and hasn’t had too many problems against the limited opposition that he’s faced. At 27, Jones should pick up a title in the welterweight division sooner or later by default, because Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t active and only selectively fights popular fighters when he does fight.

Shane Mosley is getting near the end of his career, and Manny Pacquiao is fighting mostly Top Rank fighters that have a little bit of a name. Jones won’t likely get fights against those guys, but he should be able to pick up a title in the near future and control it for awhile over the limited opposition in the division.

As for his November 13th fight against Karass, Jones should beat him up and either take him out or win a lopsided 12 round decision. Technically, Karass is ranked in the top 10 by the WBC but I see him as bottom 17 fighter and not better than that. Jones should beat him without too many problems. This fight isn’t really enough to overcome some of the mismatches on the expensive card, however.

Kelly Pavlik is facing Brian Vera, Guillero Rigondeaux vs. Ricardo Cordoba, and prospects Jose Benavidez vs. Winston Mathis and Mike Lee vs. Keith Debow. None of those fights are particularly interesting for me. Cordoba will get slaughtered, Vera will get mowed down by Pavlik and Debow will be crushed by Lee. The main event will see Pacquiao easily beat Margarito. The Jones-Karass fight will likely be the only interesting fight, but it won’t be as interesting as it should be because Jones should be facing a better opponent.

At 27, Jones’ career is flying by and he’s still fighting guys that middle of the road. Top Rank needs to push him a little faster because by the time Jones wins a title, he could be nearing 30, the way they’re bringing him along. And I don’t think he can beat Saul Alvarez, who fights for Golden Boy Promotions.