Jones, 26, became an instant crowd favourite with the UK fans with his no holds barred style as he and Brook waged war for the duration of their IBF title eliminator at the Motorpoint Arena and now faces Purdy for the IBF international belt in London.
The Oklahoma man had been linked to a fight with Ricky Hatton in November and Jones explained to WBN that whispers he was being considered by the ‘Hitman’ for his comeback, led to his now scheduled meeting with Essex’s Purdy.
“I had heard a few rumours about me fighting Hatton and was surely up for the fight,” Jones told World Boxing News.
“So I called my manager to see if he had been contacted by Hatton’s team and that wasn’t the case, but it sounded like a good idea to us so he contacted (Kell Brook’s promoter) Eddie hearn to see how to get in contact with Hatton promotions and he had informed us that Hatton had an opponent already, but then asked if I’d be interested in fighting Lee Purdy.
“I had never seen, nor heard of Purdy until the offer was made so I immediately went to watch footage of him and right away I knew I wanted the fight.
“I think Purdy’s style is somewhat like mine, although I don’t think he has the ring smarts, experience or power to hold up against me, but credit to him for taking such a big step up.”
A realistic opponent for the winner in 2013 of the Alexandra Palace clash is Brook himself as the ‘Special One’ tackles Hector Saldivia on October 20 and is then set be the IBF’s mandatory challenger to the Randall Bailey v Devon Alexander victor on the same night.
If Brook can become a world champion, Jones is convinced that victory over Purdy puts him on pole position to avenge his majority decision defeat to the fringe world title contender and could then be considering a third visit to the UK.
“A rematch with Kell Brook is all I have been thinking about since July 7th and I think there are a lot of questions that need to be answered from that fight,” said Jones.
“If Brook runs through Saldivia and picks up a world title, then he will have no choice but to give me the rematch I deserve.”
British fight fans have been nudging Matchroom boss Hearn via his Twitter account to bring Jones across the Atlantic again and matching him with Purdy has been seen as a masterstroke by many.
“I have received nothing but love from the British fans since the first fight and am really looking forward to going back over to fight Purdy and hopefully a second fight with Brook in future.
“I don’t think wins over Purdy and Brook will come back to back though as I feel that Brook will have to have a world title before him and I rematch, but the ultimate plan as always is to win a world title, no matter who I have to beat.”
