Middleweight Amari Jones Wants To Be The Next World Champ Out of Oakland Since Andrew Ward

Amari Jones has a goal: to become Oakland’s next world champion.

Jones will main event his first card against former titleholder Vincenzo Gualtieri on Friday at the SAP Center.

Jones, 16-0 (14 KOs), landed a major promotional deal in June. He fought on two undercards, winning both bouts by knockout. Most recently, he was the pay-per-view opening bout for Ryan Garcia, winning the WBC welterweight title over Mario Barrios. Jones, a 24-year-old from Oakland, California, brings back the glory that Hall of Fame boxer Andre Ward once brought to the region. Jones wants to bring a title back to Oakland, and this is the first step: having a major boxing telecast in the Bay Area.

“We haven’t had a champion out of Oakland since Andre Ward,” Jones told FightsATW. “That was about 10 years ago. I think it is time for a new one to get put on the map, and I am the guy to do it.”

Part of the process was training with Virgil Hunter, Ward’s trainer, in Hayward, California. Jones made the move in late 2024. The two have had three fights since.

“Virgil has brought a different level of maturity out of me,” Jones said. “I am having a purpose with everything I do in the ring.”

In Jones’ last fight, he stopped Luis Arias, who was unable to continue between rounds. This bout serves as a step-up in competition. Gualtieri is a former titleholder. He beat Esquiva Falcao to win the vacant IBF middleweight title. Then, in his first title defense, the 33-year-old from Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, would get stopped by WBO titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly. The bout was his only fight outside of Germany. Since the loss, Gualtieri has won four fights.

“Of course, especially since at one point, people thought Janibek was the boogeyman of the division,” Jones said. “I have beaten him more impressively than Janibek; what does that say about me?”