The unbeaten 24-year-old middleweight from Oakland, California, who now lives in Las Vegas, never allowed Gualtieri to build any momentum. Whenever the former champion tried to pressure him, Jones caught him coming forward.

The fight ended in the third round after Jones backed Gualtieri into the corner and landed a left hook and right hand through the guard that sent him to the canvas.

Gualtieri got back up, but Jones stayed on him and dropped him a second time with a left hook along the ropes. Referee Edward Collantes stopped the fight during the count.

The victory was Jones’ third consecutive stoppage win and the biggest result of his career so far.

The IBF middleweight title is currently vacant after former unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped following an adverse analytical finding tied to Meldonium in a VADA test. His planned unification fight with Erislandy Lara was later canceled, though Alimkhanuly still holds the WBO title despite serving a one-year suspension from the sanctioning body.

Gualtieri previously held the IBF middleweight title before losing it to Alimkhanuly by sixth-round stoppage in 2023.

In the chief support bout, Robin Safar (20-0, 13 KOs) overcame an early knockdown to edge Yamil Peralta by split decision in a close cruiserweight fight. Safar rallied behind steady pressure after Peralta dropped him with a right hand in the second round.

Elsewhere on the card, Darius Fulghum stopped Yoanki Urrutia in three rounds at light heavyweight, while Tristan Kalkreuth knocked out Marco Canedo in the sixth round of their cruiserweight bout. Jordan Fuentes also stayed unbeaten with a six-round decision over Dante Hernandez.