Amari Jones Blasts Out Vincenzo Gualtieri As Robin Safar Survives Scare To Win WBC Silver Title

Jones Makes A Serious Statement In San Jose

Friday night’s Golden Boy card in San Jose ended up being the Amari Jones breakout performance people had been waiting for.

Amari Jones didn’t just beat former world champion Vincenzo Gualtieri. He flattened him inside three rounds and suddenly the middleweight division has another young name demanding attention.

Elsewhere on the card, Robin Sirwan Safar had to climb off the canvas to edge out Yamil Alberto Peralta in a rough 12-round battle for the WBC Silver cruiserweight title, while several unbeaten prospects handled business in impressive fashion throughout the night.

Main Event

Amari Jones (17-0-0) crushed former IBF champion Vincenzo Gualtieri (25-2-1) by third-round knockout in their scheduled 12-round IBF middleweight eliminator.

Jones looked patient early, using the jab and slowly breaking Gualtieri down before things suddenly exploded in round three. A brutal right hand to the temple sent the German to the canvas for the first knockdown, and moments later Jones finished the job with a vicious uppercut that left Gualtieri down again.

The referee waved it off at 2:29 of the third round and honestly there were no complaints. Jones looked levels above by that stage. 

Afterwards, Jones sounded fully aware of what this win means for his career.

“I made a statement tonight that needed to be made,” said Jones. “I proved that my win against veteran Luis Arias wasn’t a fluke by going out here and knocking out an experienced former world champion.”

The unbeaten middleweight also revealed Virgil Hunter told him after the opening round that Gualtieri had already shown him everything he had.

“I’m an ultimate finisher,” Jones added. “A star was made tonight, and I put the middleweight division on notice.”

Co-Main Event / Key Fights

Robin Sirwan Safar (20-0-0) stayed unbeaten but had to work hard for it, edging Yamil Alberto Peralta (18-2-1) by split decision to capture the WBC Silver cruiserweight title.

Safar was dropped in the second round for the first time in his professional career and never fully had things his own way against the awkward Argentine.

The judges eventually scored it 116-111 and 114-113 twice for Safar, while Melissa McMorrow had it 115-112 for Peralta. It was messy at times, physical throughout, and definitely closer than Safar probably expected going in. 

“I didn’t plan for the fight to go the distance,” Safar admitted afterwards. “I wanted to get him out of there in the later rounds.”

Safar also acknowledged the knockdown while insisting the result was all that mattered.

“That was the first time ever for me getting dropped. It was a little flash knockdown, but we came back and won the fight.”

At super flyweight, John Ramirez (17-1-0) comfortably outpointed Argentina’s Lucas Emanuel Fernandez (14-5-2) over ten rounds by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.

Ramirez looked sharp throughout and never really let Fernandez settle into the fight. No surprise result there. 

Jordan Panthen (12-2-0) captured the WBA Continental middleweight title with a third-round knockout win over Jean Rivera-Pacheco (10-3-0).

Panthen dropped Rivera multiple times before the referee finally stopped things at 1:30 of round three. Considering the tense weigh-in face off the night before, Panthen definitely backed up his calm attitude once the punches started flying.

Other Featured Fights

Darius Fulghum (15-1-1) stopped Miami’s Yoanki Urrutia (17-3-0) via third-round retirement in their super middleweight contest.

A nasty body shot in round three clearly changed the fight and Urrutia’s corner decided they had seen enough at the end of the round after their man was dropped. Smart decision honestly. 

Tristan Kalkreuth (17-1-0) produced one of the night’s more eye-catching finishes, knocking out Marco Antonio Canedo (8-4-1) at 51 seconds of round six.

Kalkreuth had promised entertainment during fight week and he delivered exactly that with a heavy-handed finish. 

Unbeaten Mongolian prospect Enkhmandakh Kharkhuu (8-0-0) picked up an eight-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Adrian Yair Ibarra Herrera (10-5-0).

The scorecards read 80-72, 78-74 and 77-75 in Kharkhuu’s favour. 

Non-Title Undercard

Jordan Fuentes (7-0-0) stayed unbeaten with a six-round unanimous decision over Dante Paris Ibarra Hernandez (3-2-0).

Fuentes took the fight on scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 after a lively opener to the DAZN broadcast. 

Jose Medrano Jr (3-0-0) closed the prelims with a fourth-round knockout over Anel Dudo (4-9-1).

The finish came at 44 seconds of round four as Medrano continued his unbeaten start as a professional. 

Closing Thoughts

The main takeaway from San Jose is pretty simple.

Amari Jones just stopped a former world champion in destructive fashion and suddenly looks like a genuine player at middleweight.

That wasn’t hype anymore. That looked real.