Vincenzo Gualtieri meets Amari Jones in San Jose. The IBF final eliminator is about the direct route back to the world championship fight.
Vincenzo Gualtieri faces a decisive night in his career on May 22. At the SAP Center in San Jose (California, USA), the former IBF middleweight world champion will face the unbeaten American Amari Jones. At stake is nothing less than the next title opportunity: the fight is an official IBF final eliminator. The winner thus moves directly into position for a world championship fight.
For the 33-year-old Gualtieri, it is an opportunity to take the next big step and become a two-time world champion. The German with Italian roots not only brings international experience to the ring, but also a clear mission. “This is a huge opportunity for me. And I will do more than anything to make the most of this opportunity. It’s no secret that everyone up there in the rankings is good and strong. I am too and I’m confident in myself. On the 22nd, I will show how I will exploit their weaknesses,” Gualtieri explains confidently in the run-up to the race.
The next middleweight star?
His opponent Amari Jones (16-0, 14 KOs) is regarded as one of the most promising talents in the US middleweight division. The 24-year-old, who comes from Oakland and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions around boxing icon Oscar De La Hoya, boxes in front of his home crowd, so to speak. Now, with Gualtieri, he faces the biggest challenge of his young career to date.
“Il Capo” Gualtieri has experience from over 100 amateur and 27 professional fights (25 victories), has already been German champion, IBO, IBF and WBO international title holder and IBF world champion. His path to professional sport was mapped out early on: He started boxing at the age of twelve, initially alongside soccer, which he played competitively until the age of 16, before dedicating himself completely to boxing. Since then, he has pursued his dream uncompromisingly.
The fight at the SAP Center will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN and will be the main fight of the evening. For Gualtieri, one thing is clear: a victory in the USA would catapult him back to the top of the middleweight division and bring him significantly closer to his goal of becoming world champion again.
Text: Press release / AGON Sports