SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – What some expected to be the first test in the career of rising middleweight contender Amari Jones was no test at all. In an IBF middleweight championship eliminator, Jones rolled past former champion Vincenzo Gualtieri inside of three rounds in the DAZN-broadcasted main event at the SAP Center at San Jose on Friday night.
Jones (17-0, 15 KOs) of Oakland, California boxed well in the first, pressing Gualtieri (25-2-1, 8 KOs) of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in moments. Gualtieri failed to let his hands go and was willing to cover up without looking to offer much in return.
Jones’ jab created some openings in the second round, as he began to redden the face of Gualtieri, 158.2, with combinations. Gualtieri offered a little more offense, but was still very defensive. Jones, 159.2, did not look too worried about what Gualtieri had to offer, brushing off the one clean punch the German landed and getting right back on the offensive.
Jones, the IBF #4/WBC #14 ranked middleweight, upped his aggression in the third as Gualtieri, the IBF #5/WBO #8 ranked middleweight, looked to be fading fast. Jones eventually pressed Gualtieri into the red corner with a combination punctuated by a right uppercut that scored the first of two knockdowns. Gualtieri managed to make it to his feet before Jones moved in and flattened his face with another right uppercut to score the second and final knockdown.
Referee Edward Collantes moved in and saw that Gualtieri would not be in any condition to continue, waving off the one-sided bout at 2:29 of round three.
With the IBF title currently vacant, Jones could potentially be in line to challenge for the belt as soon as his next outing, something both he and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya seemed keen on in the immediate aftermath of the fight.
“The 160-pound world champions are on notice and that world title is going back to Oakland,” said De La Hoya after the bout. “I saw maturity. I saw poise. I saw him taking his time, but at the same time – aggressive. A masterclass performance. Everybody at 160: you better watch out. Maybe September or October, who knows? But we are taking that world title back to Oakland baby.”
In the cruiserweight co-main event, Robin Safar (20-0, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Flemingsberg, Stockholm, Sweden got off the canvas in the second round to score a twelve-round split decision over Yamil Peralta (18-2-1, 10 KOs) of Del Viso, Buenos Aires, Argentina. While that summation might indicate an exciting, high level contest, the San Jose crowd was less than thrilled by most of the bout.
After a feeling out first round, Peralta, 199, landed with an overhand right in the first minute of the second round to score a flash knockdown. Safar, 199.2, did not appear to be shaken up and things got a little chippy as the round progressed. Peralta, the WBC #2/WBA #11 ranked cruiserweight, would be warned for holding, and Safar, the WBO #4/WBC #12/WBA #12/IBF #14 ranked cruiserweight, was warned for hitting behind the head before the round came to a close.
As the fight moved to the middle rounds, Peralta became a boxer-mover, which gave Safar some problems as he was never able to really find a way to cut off the ring on his rangier opponent. While Peralta did well to avoid getting in Safar’s punching range, he never really pressed the fight for any length of time and thus allowed himself to get outworked despite not taking a great deal of punishment.
Safar came on a bit in the seventh and found a home for several right hands and continued to attempt to press the fight. Safar may have been as disinterested in the lack of action as the crowd on hand, as he inexplicably looked away late in the ninth and caught a left hook to the face.
After three nondescript championship rounds, the official scorers came to the split decision.
Judge Melissa McMorrow scored the bout 115-112 for Peralta, but was overruled by judge David Solivan, who scored the bout 114-113 and judge Rudy Barragan, 116-111, both for Safar.
With the victory, Safar claimed the lightly-regarded WBC Silver title. Despite a performance that will not get a public outcry for a title opportunity, Safar figures to be near the head of the line to challenge recently-crowned WBC champion Noel Mikaelian. Three of the top four WBC contenders (Ryan Rozicki, Jai Opetaia and Chris Billiam-Smith) have recently signed with promoter Zuffa Boxing, with whom the WBC has a contentious relationship.
Darius Fulghum (15-1-1, 13 KOs) of Houston, Texas stayed busy with a stoppage of overmatched Yoanki Urrutia (17-3, 7 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of Las Tunas, Las Tunas, Cuba.
Fulghum, 168.8, did not force anything, but kept touching Urrutia, 169.8, through the opening rounds. Urrutia did not have the look of a fighter trying to win a fight from the early going and had a point deducted for repeatedly holding in the third.
Fulghum, the WBA #5 ranked super middleweight, was never able to create the space needed to land as clean as he probably wanted, but did break through with a solid right to the body, followed by a left hook through Urrutia’s guard to score a knockdown at the end of the third.
Urrutia was saved by the bell, but sat down in his corner at the end of the round, immediately shaking his head. His corner gained the attention of referee Michael Margado to signal their fighter did not wish to continue. Time of the stoppage officially came at the end of round three.
Cruiserweight prospect Tristan Kalkreuth (17-1, 12 KOs) of North Las Vegas, Nevada had a tougher time than expected, but scored a sixth-round stoppage nonetheless over Marco Antonio Canedo (8-4-1, 5 KOs) of Tacámbaro, Michoacán, Mexico.
Canedo, 199.6, opened up late in the first and caught a stiff left from Kalkreuth, 198.2, in retort. The Michoacán native needed to take a step back to clear the cobwebs, but luckily for him there was not much time left in the round for Kalkreuth to capitalize.
Canedo opened up offensively in the fourth, landing with some solid left hooks in exchanges. It did not appear Kalkreuth was hurt, but the Vegas resident opted to cover up along the ropes for long stretches in the round. Canedo kept his hands busy until late in the round, when he may have expended much of his gas tank.
Kalkreuth woke up in the fifth, rocking a tired Canedo late after a much more aggressive round. Canedo had apparently not fully recovered by the time the sixth began, as Kalkreuth landed a two-punch combination early to score a knockdown. Canedo made it upright, but was on wobbly footing and quickly tasted the canvas a second time from a right hand. Referee Rudy Barragan quickly waved off the bout without a count after the second knockdown at 51 seconds of the sixth.
Jordan Fuentes (7-0, 2 KOs) of Fresno, California opened up the main card on DAZN with an impressive six-round unanimous decision over a game Dante Ibarra Hernandez (3-2, 3 KOs) of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.
Despite a height disadvantage, Fuentes, 117.2, wasted no time in finding the chin of Ibarra Hernandez, 118, especially with his right hand, in the first. Fuentes’ hand speed continued to be a problem for Ibarra Hernandez in the second. The Jalisco native kept up the pressure, but Fuentes was elusive, picking his spots and landing with both hands.
Ibarra Hernandez managed to land with a straight right early in the third that backed Fuentes up, off balance. Fuentes, known as the “Brazen Bull,” quickly went back to better resembling a matador, making himself an evasive target while picking his spots to land hard shots.
The super tough Ibarra Hernandez finally began to show signs of wilting late in the fifth, when Fuentes landed hard to his body. With Ibarra Hernandez slumping his posture, Fuentes focused on his body attack to close the round. Fuentes closed the fight strong, but Ibarra Hernandez proved to be the durable type of opponent a young prospect should encounter on his rise.
Judge Joel Farbstein scored the bout 59-55, while judges Rogelio Chapa and Michael Margado both had the fight scored a shutout, 60-54, for Fuentes.
In the final preliminary bout prior to the main card, Jose Medrano Jr. (3-0, 2 KOs) of Salinas, California scored a fourth-round stoppage of veteran Anel Dudo (4-9-1, 1 KO) of Aurora, Colorado by way of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Medrano, 127.4, worked behind his lengthy right jab to create openings for his left. Dudo, 126.8, hung tough in the early going before Medrano opened up in the fourth. Medrano landed with a power left that sent Dudo into retreat. With the Salinas native opening up and Dudo not offering back, referee Thomas Taylor leapt in at 44 seconds of the fourth to stop the contest.
Jordan Panthen (12-2, 10 KOs) of Honolulu, Hawaii bullied his way back into the win column, dropping soft-punching Jean Rivera-Pacheco (10-3, 1 KO) of San Juan, Puerto Rico three times en route to a third-round stoppage.
Panthen, 159.8, was the naturally stronger fighter in the bout and used his size and power edge over Rivera-Pacheco, 159.2, from the outset. Warned for tossing Rivera-Pacheco to the mat in the first, Panthen scored the first of three knockdowns with a left to the body early in the second round. Rivera-Pacheco beat the count looking less enthused about his standing in the bout. With Rivera-Pacheco already looking at taking a knee to regroup, Panthen landed to the body with a glancing blow to score the second knockdown of the second round.
The writing was on the wall before Panthen scored the third knockdown with an overhand right early in the third. Referee Michael Margado made his count before waving off the bout at 1:30 of the third round. With the victory, Panthen ended a two-fight skid and claimed the regional WBA Intercontinental middleweight title in the process.
WBA #1/WBO #6/WBC #12 ranked super flyweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez (17-1, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles, California continued to inch closer to a crack at a world title, outboxing veteran Lucas Fernandez (14-5-2, 9 KOs) of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina en route to a wide ten-round unanimous decision.
Ramirez, 114.8, began the bout using his lateral movement and outworking Fernandez, 114.8, in stretches. Fernandez’s highlights in the bout were fleeting as he most notably landed with a solid right in the eighth that caused Ramirez to hold on for a moment. Ramirez slowed his movement in the later rounds, opting to plant his feet and let his hands go for extended exchanges, to much success.
Judge David Solivan scored all but one round for Ramirez, 99-91, while judges Rogelio Chapa and Joel Farbstein both scored the bout 98-92. With the win, Ramirez stays in line for a possible world title challenge.
In the opener, Enkhmandakh Kharkhuu (8-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles by way of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia remained unbeaten with an hard-fought eight round unanimous decision over Adrian Ibarra Herrera (10-5, 8 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Ibarra Herrera pressed the action for much of the fight, with Kharkhuu playing the role of counter-puncher. After Ibarra Herrera pressured and outworked Kharkhuu in rounds two and three, Kharkhuu picked up the pace to begin the fourth. Along the way, Ibarra Herrera picked up a bad cut over his left eye, but it did not slow his output. They saved the best two-way action for the last half of the eighth and final round, as Kharkhuu especially sat down on his punches as Ibarra Herrera continued to press.
In the end, Kharkhuu won over all three judges; Melissa McMorrow, 80-72, Joel Farbstein, 78-74, and Rogelio Chapa, 77-75, for the unanimous decision nod.
Photos by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com