{"id":22707,"date":"2026-05-24T20:51:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/22707\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T20:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:51:12","slug":"oaklands-amari-jones-takes-on-vincenzo-gualtieri-at-sap-center-on-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/22707\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland’s Amari Jones takes on Vincenzo Gualtieri at SAP Center on Friday"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2014 Amari Jones<\/a> wasn\u2019t interested in any of the promotional fanfare Wednesday at Hayes Mansion ahead of his big-stage fight tonight in front of a hometown crowd.<\/p>\n

The Oakland native<\/a> sat still. Jaw set. Eyes locked somewhere past the cameras and the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Photos: Oakland boxer Amari Jones set to fight former IBF middleweight world champion<\/a><\/p>\n

Not brooding. No nerves. Just ready for battle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the kind of attitude that everyone in the room could feel, even if he wasn\u2019t saying much. An edgy mood that felt as if something bad could pop off in a matter of seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fitting for a guy nicknamed \u201cThe Reaper.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones<\/a> (16-0, 14 KOs) will bring that intensity tonight to SAP Center, where he will be fighting former world champion Vincenzo Gualtieri (25-1-1) of Germany in a 12-round middleweight IBF title eliminator. A win will put Jones one step closer to a world title shot, a climb he has made look surgical since turning pro in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones made it clear: This fight against Gualtieri is just another step to getting where he wants to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to punish this man,\u201d Jones said during the press conference. \u201cI\u2019m going to show why Golden Boy Promotions is so high on me. I\u2019m going to prove to him that he can\u2019t compare to me. He doesn\u2019t have nothing. He reached his climax already.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AmariAmari Jones is declared the winner after knocking out Daniel Echeverria in a boxing match, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at the Oakland Marriott Center in Oakland, Calif. (Karl Mondon\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is his last hope to do anything serious in his career, so he better take it serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even in the midst of getting his mind ready for the biggest fight of his career up to this point, Jones said he is thankful to be able to bring boxing back to the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe home is where the heart is, and to get recognized by big staples in the community in the Bay Area is unmatched,\u201d Jones told the Bay Area News Group after the press conference. \u201cAnd to eventually put boxing in the Bay on a national level is where it\u2019s at. I\u2019m going to continue to try and build here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fight will be Jones\u2019 third time competing in his home region since turning pro. In December 2023, Jones knocked out Quilisto Madera at Chase Center on the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis fight card. A few months later, Jones headlined a local card<\/a> at the Oakland Convention Center, where he KO\u2019d Daniel Echeverria with a body shot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shortly after his fight in Oakland, Jones signed with Oscar De La Hoya-led Golden Boy Promotions, where he has quickly elevated to become one of the sport\u2019s brightest young stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones said he has learned a lot from the legendary Hall of Fame boxer in and out of the ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been with Oscar a year now and business-wise, he\u2019s been helping me get my mind sharper,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

In February, Jones finished veteran Luis Arias after a flurry of body and head shots made the 35-year-old quit on the stool after the fourth round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AmariAmari Jones, of Oakland, left, flexes his muscles on the scale during an official weigh-in ahead of his fight against Vincenzo Gualtieri, of Germany, at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Jones, an undefeated middleweight contender, and Gualtieri, a former IBF middleweight world champion, will fight in a 12-round IBF title eliminator bout on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

An athletic power puncher with an aggressive style, Jones is favored over Gualtieri. FanDuel Sportsbook<\/a> currently has Jones as a -2000 favorite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even Jones knows this fight won\u2019t be easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old Gualtieri, nicknamed \u201cII Capo\u201d has won multiple world titles in Europe. He is currently on a four-fight winning streak and was the IBF Middleweight champion as recently as 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gualtieri is as technical a boxer as they come and is motivated to return to the world title mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for me to move forward and become a world champion again,\u201d Gualtieri said. \u201cI\u2019ve fought a lot of champions and been in big fights before. Friday night, Amari is fighting someone who has already been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s card figures to be a full night of action at SAP Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the co-main event, undefeated cruiserweight Robin Safar (19-0, 13 KOs) will be fighting for the WBC Silver cruiserweight title against Argentine fighter Yamil Peralta (18-1-1, 10 KOs) in a 12-round bout. Darius Fulghum (14-1-1, 12 KOs) will fight Yoanki Urrutia (17-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round matchup. Rounding out the main card will be Tristan Kalkreuth (16-1, 11 KOs) fighting Mexico\u2019s Marco Canedo (8-3-1, 5 KOs).<\/p>\n

Undercard fights will begin at 2:15 p.m. and the broadcast featuring the main event will begin at 5 p.m. on DAZN.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AmariAmari Jones, of Oakland, center, steps down the stage after the official weigh-in against Vincenzo Gualtieri, of Germany, at Hayes Mansion in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, May 21, 2026. Jones, an undefeated middleweight contender, and Gualtieri, a former IBF middleweight world champion, will fight in a 12-round IBF title eliminator bout on Friday at the SAP Center in San Jose. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"AmariAmari Jones, left, boxes Daniel Echeverria, Saturday night, Aug. 31, 2024, at the Oakland Marriott Center in Oakland, Calif. (Karl Mondon\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2014 Amari Jones wasn\u2019t interested in any of the promotional fanfare Wednesday at Hayes Mansion ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21036],"tags":[23957,20335,20264,2922,20338,20333,2381,23958,23961,21108,23959,9695,23960,259],"class_list":["post-22707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sap","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-boxing","tag-california","tag-east-bay","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-oakland","tag-other-sports","tag-san-jose","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-sap","tag-south-bay","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}