“A star was made tonight, and I hope I put a division on notice,” Amari said of his victory after the fight. He put on a show for the home crowd who drove from nearby Oakland to support Jones. He had been asking for the opportunity to headline in the Bay Area and delivered with a dominant performance.
He’s been on a steady progression, staying undefeated and looking impressive in the process, sporting an 88.2 percent knockout percentage.
“I made a statement that needed to be made. I wanted to show that me stopping Arias was no fluke and tonight I proved that against a well…well experienced champion,” Jones told Chris Mannix, after being asked to describe his performance Friday night.
His promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, reiterated his dominant performance by saying, “Incredible statement, the 160-pound world champions are on notice, and that world title is going back to Oakland.” De La Hoya expects a championship fight for Jones later this year.
Whether that be for the IBF title or potentially against the other divisional champions remains to be seen. The division presently doesn’t have any predominant champion and is open to any potential contender.
Erislandy Lara is the WBA middleweight titleholder and presently does not have a fight scheduled. He last defended his title against last-minute replacement Johan Gonzalez. Who stepped in for Janibek for PED violations? The match was to be a unification match with Lara. Alimkhanuly still holds the WBO title for now.
Carlos Adames, the WBC middleweight title holder, made it known after his match against Austin Williams that he intends to move up to super middleweight but has yet to vacate the title.
Amari appears to have more than just the IBF option in reaching a championship match. When the opportunity comes, he must be ready to capitalize on it. He is fortunate to have legendary trainer Vergil Hunter in his corner, who will ensure he is ready when the time comes.
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