Jones, 28, scored a spectacular first round technical knockout victory, the 27th early finish of his career, although the win was ultimately shrouded in controversy as Rose complained about the timing of the intervention from referee Ian John-Lewis.
The Oklahoma-native was fighting for a title at 154lbs for the first time since 2010 after spending four years at the lower welterweight limit and celebrated a maiden victory in the UK following two defeats and draw against Kell Brook and Dean Byrne respectively.
Despite former world title challenger Rose being livid at the decision in front of his home fans at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, an expected immediate return is not yet on the cards for Jones who is still basking in the glory of possibly the biggest win of his career to date.
“I expected Rose to be mad at the finish as he’s a fighter. I’m sure he wanted to continue, but the referee thought otherwise and I’m happy with the decision,” Jones told World Boxing News.
“The referee had a job to do and he did it. Of course, I got the win so I’m not going to complain about it, but I will say that if it would have been me instead of Rose that would have been stopped nobody would have argued it.”
On the complaints that followed from the vast majority of UK supporters along with Rose’s promoter Eddie Hearn who called it ‘a very bad stoppage,’ Jones added: “All I know is my fans are ecstatic for me, but obviously there is always going to be mixed responses and that’s just the way it is.
“Eddie hasn’t mentioned a rematch to me either and I’m not sure if he will. I don’t think the money will be in that fight for me and most likely I will pursue other opportunities.
“Who or what that will be I am leaving that up to my team and I trust they will provide the best opportunities out there,” he concluded.
The defeat has left 30 year-old Rose nursing a second knockout loss from his last three fights and facing a tough rebuilding job if Hearn cannot secure a second chance for his fighter in the coming months.
At this moment, revenge for Rose seems to be paramount to end the argument surrounding the nature of the stoppage and it may take a sizeable fee to convince Jones that Rose should be his opponent again in the near future.
