Amari Jones stops Gualtieri in three to become IBF middleweight mandatory
Amari "The Reaper" Jones dropped Vincenzo Gualtieri twice in the third round Friday night at SAP Center in San Jose, stopping the former IBF middleweight champion to become the division's mandatory challenger.
Amari Jones and Vincenzo Gualtieri face off at the official weigh-in ahead of their IBF middleweight title eliminator. SAN JOSE — Amari “The Reaper” Jones needed less than nine minutes to announce himself as the next mandatory challenger for the vacant IBF middleweight title. Fighting in front of a raucous Bay Area crowd at SAP Center on Friday night, the undefeated Oakland native dropped Vincenzo Gualtieri twice in the third round before the referee called a halt, improving to 17-0 with 15 knockouts.
Jones controlled the early going with his jab and a steady diet of power shots to the head and body. The 24-year-old moved well and timed his counters sharply whenever the 33-year-old Gualtieri tried to close the distance. For two rounds, Gualtieri struggled to find a route in against the younger, faster fighter.
The finish came in a hurry in the third. Jones backed Gualtieri into the corner and broke through his guard with a punishing barrage, the first knockdown sending the former champion to the canvas. Gualtieri beat the count, but the storm was not over.
Jones stayed on him along the ropes and this time it was a clean uppercut that finished the sequence, dropping Gualtieri a second time. Referee Edward Collantes took one look at the state of the challenger and waved it off at the count of five. The win was Jones’ third straight stoppage victory and the biggest of his young career.