That was quick: Oakland native Amari Jones KOs Vincenzo Gualtieri in third round to capture dominant win

SAN JOSE - Amari Jones promised punishment. Vincenzo Gualtieri got the full delivery.

The West Oakland native backed up his pre-fight mission on Friday night, stopping Gualtieri in the third round of the IBF World Title Eliminator at SAP Center.

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 “no more,” and the fight was called off with 31 seconds left in the round.

The win punched Jones' ticket to a world title shot – right on schedule, as he said – while improving his record to 17-0 and collecting his 15th knockout of his pro career.

Even sweeter, Jones captured the win in his home region in front of hundreds of his family and friends ringside.

"You can't really put the feelings I have into words," Jones told the Bay Area News Group after the fight. "I was going in there trying to keep my eyes forward and my head down. It was so energetic and I'm just grateful for everything."

That energy was set off as soon as Jones walked into the ring.

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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 "Do Better."

Like a computer, Jones used the first round to download information. He studied Gualtieri's fight patterns and even took a few shots to the body to see his opponent's tendencies.

In the second round, he pounced.

Jones found success using a left hook to the body followed by a straight right hand down the middle that bloodied Gualtieri's nose. Solid footwork and quick hands easily broke down Gualtieri's guard and that was all Jones needed to figure out a way to finish him.

"My coach told me he showed me all he had," Jones said of the second round. "I saw that he didn’t 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."

Without hesitation, Jones made good on his promise to finish the 33-year-old former world champion.

Visibly hurt from the previous two rounds, Gualtieri retreated with every punch Jones threw.

Gualtieri backed himself into a corner once Jones threw a flurry of powerful shots upstairs. Jones then proceeded to punch through Gualtieri's guard until he found the perfect combination to sit him down: left hook, right hook, uppercut.

The combo left Gualtieri lying on the ropes with a look of shock on his face as the referee started his count.

"I'm the ultimate finisher," Jones said. "I knew that when I hurt him, he wasn't going to last."

The final blow came clean and quick. A left-handed jab set up a vicious right-handed uppercut that Gualtieri couldn't recover from. Down on both knees, the veteran boxer was unable to take any more punishment.

When the count got to four, Gualtieri shook his head in defeat.

TKO.

The victory put the rest of the division, which currently lacks a true star, on notice as Jones will now automatically qualify for an IBF world title fight.

No one was happier to make that proclamation than Golden Boy Promotions founder and Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya.

"I saw maturity, I saw poise, I saw him taking his time, but at the same time being aggressive," De La Hoya said on the DAZN broadcast in a post-fight interview. "I loved the footwork, the combinations, the bodywork, the uppercuts. A masterclass performance. Everybody at 160, you better watch out.

"We’re taking that title back to Oakland."

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Jones said he is willing to fight anybody for his next fight. The IBF recently mandated the division's 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.

But for now, Jones will celebrate Friday's win.

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.

"Tonight 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," Jones said. "A lot of people here in the crowd were going crazy. It’s going to be bigger and better I promise."

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 10:04 PM.