IBF Middleweight Final Eliminator · 12 Rounds · SAP Center · San Jose
Jones
16–0 (14 KOs)
Oakland, CA · 23 yrs · IBF #4
Gualtieri
25–1–1 (8 KOs)
Germany · 33 yrs · IBF #5
Amari "The Reaper" Jones vs Vincenzo "Il Capo" Gualtieri
San Jose · May 22, 2026
The Boxing Blotter · boxingblotter.com
Vol. I · No. 13 · Pre-Fight
The Story
First Former Champion. First Real Test.
Golden Boy Promotions hasn't brought a card to the Bay Area in nearly two decades. Amari Jones is the reason they came back — 23 years old, 16–0, trained by Virgil Hunter, fighting in front of a crowd that watched him grow up.
Jones is also fighting a former world champion for the first time. Vincenzo Gualtieri won the IBF middleweight title by beating Esquiva Falcao in 2023, lost it to Janibek Alimkhanuly in six rounds, and has won four straight since. He came in ranked fifth in the IBF. There is something to find out Friday.
The co-main deserves equal attention. Robin Safar and Yamil Peralta are fighting for the WBC Silver cruiserweight title in a matchup most of the room hasn't tracked.
Main Event · IBF Middleweight Eliminator · 12 Rounds
Fighter Profiles
Amari "The Reaper" Jones
Oakland, California. 23 years old. Pro debut April 2021. Multiple national championships as an amateur — documented per Golden Boy's confirmed record. Trained by Virgil Hunter, who called Jones "one of the best fighters I have trained since Andre Ward." He is a switch-hitter with height, power, and the patience Hunter builds into every fighter he develops. 14 knockouts in 16 fights — 87.5%. Most recent win: fourth-round stoppage of Luis Arias on the Barrios–Garcia card, February 2026. Ranked fourth in the IBF. He has never shared a ring with anyone who has held a world title.
Vincenzo "Il Capo" Gualtieri
Born in Germany, Italian roots, based in Munich. 33 years old. Pro debut 2016. Beat Esquiva Falcao to win the IBF middleweight title on July 1, 2023 — Falcao's first professional loss. Lost it to Janibek Alimkhanuly in round six three months later. That stoppage belongs in context: Gualtieri absorbed punishment for five rounds before the fight was ended. He wasn't demolished early. Won four straight in Germany since. 103 professional rounds. 8 knockouts in 26 fights — not a finisher, but his defense and ring intelligence are what got him a title.
Tale of the Tape
23
Age
33
16–0 (14 KOs)
Record
25–1–1 (8 KOs)
Oakland, CA
Base
Munich, Germany
Orthodox / Switch
Stance
Orthodox
IBF #4
Ranking
IBF #5
Multiple National Championships
Amateur
German amateur career
87.5%
KO Rate
30.8%
~60 rounds
Pro Rounds
103 rounds
Virgil Hunter
Trainer
—
Round 4 · SAP Center, San Jose · May 22, 2026
Golden Boy Promotions
Matchup Factors
The KO Rate Question
Unverified
Jones's 14 knockouts in 16 fights reads as elite finishing ability. The opposition qualifies that number. He has never faced a former world champion, a ranked contender with defensive credentials, or anyone who fights like Gualtieri. Whether the rate holds at this level is what Friday answers. Gualtieri's one professional stoppage loss was to Janibek Alimkhanuly. Jones is not Janibek.
Championship Round Experience
Gualtieri Edge
Gualtieri has 103 professional rounds. Jones has roughly 60. Gualtieri went six rounds with Janibek — absorbed world-class combinations and stayed upright for most of it. If this gets complicated in rounds 8 through 12, those extra 40 rounds count for something. Jones has not been tested past the early rounds by anyone capable of hurting him.
Virgil Hunter's System
Jones Edge
Hunter's fighters are built for the long arc. Jones's amateur foundation plus Hunter's professional development puts him technically ahead of most 23-year-olds at this stage. His combination work, ability to switch stances, and jab-to-power-shot sequencing are all Hunter signatures. Whether that translates against a former world champion is a separate question from whether the system works.
Gualtieri's Durability
Gualtieri Edge
30.8% knockout rate over 26 fights. Gualtieri is not a finisher — and the other side of that is he does not get stopped. He survived Janibek for five and a half rounds. Jones's power has not been tested against this level of defensive intelligence or this level of opponent. The question is whether Gualtieri can make Jones miss cleanly enough to neutralize the power advantage over 12 rounds.
The Call · Jones vs. Gualtieri
Jones UD
Unanimous Decision · 12 Rounds
Jones wins. Bigger, younger, more physically gifted, and trained by the best developer in the sport. The method is the call: he does not stop Gualtieri. Gualtieri survived Janibek for five and a half rounds. His defensive intelligence frustrates Jones through the middle rounds. Jones wins clean on the scorecards. Gualtieri is still standing at the final bell — and that's the piece of information this fight produces.
Confidence
Lean
Co-Main Event · WBC Silver Cruiserweight Title · 12 Rounds
Safar vs. Peralta · Fight Analysis
Robin Safar is undefeated, 19–0, based in Las Vegas, with a 68% finish rate. His résumé headline is a unanimous decision over Sergey Kovalev in Riyadh in May 2024. He is ranked WBC #12 and WBO #4.
Yamil Peralta is from Buenos Aires, 34 years old, a two-time Olympian per the WBC's documentation for this fight. He is ranked WBC #2 — 10 spots ahead of Safar in the same rankings. He holds the WBC Silver title that's being defended Friday. His one loss — a decision to Ryan Rozicki in Canada — was controversial enough that the rematch was declared a draw. This is his U.S. debut.
Safar's defining win came over a very aged Kovalev. Peralta is #2 in the rankings Safar is #12 in. The gap between those two numbers is the pick.
Peralta working in Argentina · TyC Sports · Buenos Aires
TyC Sports
The Call · Upset Alert
Peralta Majority Decision
Two-time Olympian, WBC #2, defending his own title on U.S. soil for the first time. Safar has not been tested at this credential level. Confidence: Lean.
Undercard Watch · Fulghum vs. Urrutia
Darius "DFG" Fulghum holds the most interesting résumé on this undercard. 2018 National Golden Gloves champion at 201 pounds — documented on BoxRec. Lost a unanimous decision to Bektemir Melikuziev in a WBA eliminator. Drew with David Stevens. Now 29, he changed camps for this cycle — working in Los Angeles with Julian Chua alongside trainer Darnell Pierce.
Yoanki Urrutia is a Cuban system product, 17–2, based in Miami. His most recent loss was to Ryan Adams, who carries a 12–11–1 record. The question Friday is not whether Fulghum wins. It's whether he looks sharp enough to stay in the world title conversation.
The Call
Fulghum TKO Rd. 4
Fulghum's power ends it before the midpoint. A win here doesn't move the needle — how he wins does. Looking flat against a fighter who just lost to a .500 opponent would be notable.
Full Card · May 22, 2026 · SAP Center
Main Event · IBF MW Eliminator
Co-Main · WBC Silver CW Title
Amari Jones vs. Vincenzo Gualtieri, 12 rds
Robin Safar vs. Yamil Peralta, 12 rds
Super Middleweights · 10 Rds
Middleweights · 10 Rds
Darius Fulghum vs. Yoanki Urrutia
Jordan Panthen vs. Jean Rivera-Pacheco
Junior Bantamweights · 10 Rds
Flyweights · 8 Rds
John Ramirez vs. Lucas Emanuel Fernandez
E. Kharkhuu vs. A.Y. Ibarra Herrera
Featherweights · 4 Rds
Broadcast
Jose Medrano Jr. vs. Anel Dudo
DAZN
Prospect Watch · Filing Flag
Amari Jones is under active evaluation for a formal Prospect Watch entry. Friday is the first data point that matters: former world champion opposition, Virgil Hunter's system under real pressure, and the first test of whether the 87.5% KO rate holds against a ranked, defensively sound opponent. Result and performance quality determine whether Jones gets filed as Vol. I Entry No. 6.
The Boxing Blotter
Documents Before · Scores During · Grades After
@boxingblotter · boxingblotter.com · Vol. I No. 13 · San Jose, CA