{"id":236,"date":"2026-05-23T05:37:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=236"},"modified":"2026-05-23T05:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:37:28","slug":"that-was-quick-oakland-native-amari-jones-kos-vincenzo-gualtieri-in-third-round-to-capture-dominant-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=236","title":{"rendered":"That was quick: Oakland native Amari Jones KOs Vincenzo Gualtieri in third round to capture dominant win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN JOSE \u2014 <\/span>Amari Jones promised<\/span> punishment. Vincenzo Gualtieri got the full delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more SF Giants surrender nine runs in fourth inning of 9-4 loss to White Sox<\/a><\/p>\n

The <\/span>West Oakland native<\/span> backed up his pre-fight mission on Friday night, stopping Gualtieri in the third round of the IBF World Title Eliminator at SAP Center in San Jose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones dropped the German-born fighter with a three-punch combo capped by a surgical overhand right. When Gualtieri found his feet, Jones stalked him back to the ropes and put him away with a vicious uppercut. Gualtieri looked at the referee as if to say \u2018no more,\u2019 and the fight was called off with 31 seconds left in the round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The win punched Jones\u2019 ticket to a world title shot \u2013 right on schedule, as he said \u2013 improving to 17-0 and collecting his 15th knockout of his pro career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even sweeter, Jones captured the win in his home region in front of hundreds of his family and friends ringside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t really put the feelings I have into words,\u201d Jones told the Bay Area News Group after the fight. \u201cI was going in there trying to keep my eyes forward and my head down. It was so energetic and I\u2019m just grateful for everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That energy was set off as soon as Jones walked into the ring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As expected, the Jones-heavy crowd gave Gualtieri a wave of boos as he made his way out of the tunnel. Those jeers turned to cheers once Jones, dressed in a camouflage jacket and shorts, walked out alongside Oakland rapper Philthy Rich, who performed his hit song \u201cDo Better.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Like a computer, Jones used the first round to download information. He studied Gualtieri\u2019s fight patterns and even took a few shots to the body to see his opponent\u2019s tendencies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the second round, he pounced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones found success using a left hook to the body followed by a straight right hand down the middle that bloodied Gualtieri\u2019s nose. Solid footwork and quick hands easily broke down Gualtieri\u2019s guard and that was all Jones needed to figure out a way to finish him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy coach told me he showed me all he had,\u201d Jones said of the second round. \u201cI saw that he didn\u2019t really do anything else besides what he did in the first round, especially when I watched on tape. So I was pretty confident enough to know that somewhere down the line I was gonna be able to stop him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Without hesitation, Jones made good on his promise to finish the 33-year-old former world champion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Visibly hurt from the previous two rounds, Gualtieri retreated with every punch Jones threw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more NCS baseball roundup: De La Salle escapes another last-inning rally<\/a><\/p>\n

Gualtieri backed himself into a corner once Jones threw a flurry of powerful shots upstairs. Jones then proceeded to punch through Gualtieri\u2019s guard until he found the perfect combination to sit him down: left hook, right hook, uppercut.<\/span><\/p>\n

The combo left Gualtieri lying on the ropes with a look of shock on his face as the referee started his count.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the ultimate finisher,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI knew that when I hurt him, he wasn\u2019t going to last.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final blow came clean and quick. A left-handed jab set up a vicious right-handed uppercut that Gualtieri couldn\u2019t recover from. Down on both knees, the veteran boxer was unable to take any more punishment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the count got to four, Gualtieri shook his head in defeat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TKO.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The victory put the rest of the division on notice as Jones will now automatically qualify for an IBF world title fight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a middleweight group that currently lacks a true star, Jones\u2019 win on Friday put the rest of the division on notice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No one was happier to make that proclamation than Golden Boy Promotions founder and hall of famer Oscar De La Hoya.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw maturity, I saw poise, I saw him taking his time, but at the same time being aggressive,\u201d De La Hoya said on the DAZN broadcast in a postfight interview. \u201cI loved the footwork, the combinations, the bodywork, the uppercuts. A masterclass performance. Everybody at 160 you better watch out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking that title back to Oakland.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jones said he is willing to fight anybody for his next fight. The IBF recently mandated the division\u2019s top 2 contenders, Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha, to fight for the vacant middleweight title. Jones will get an automatic title fight against the winner of that bout, should it happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for now, Jones will celebrate Friday\u2019s win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The former Clayton Valley High School football player said he is happy that he got to bring boxing back to the Bay for one night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTonight I proved why there was a reason for Oscar to bring a fight back to the Bay Area and especially bring a world title fight back to Oakland,\u201d Jones said. \u201cA lot of people here in the crowd were going crazy. It\u2019s going to be bigger and better I promise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more After Burlingame boy\u2019s death, mother recalls son killed by falling table decades earlier<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jones hit Gualtieri with a vicious uppercut in third round to secure thrilling win at SAP Center<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nThat was quick: Oakland native Amari Jones KOs Vincenzo Gualtieri in third round to capture dominant win - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=236\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"That was quick: Oakland native Amari Jones KOs Vincenzo Gualtieri in third round to capture dominant win - 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