Facing the most significant test of his career, Jones delivered a dominant performance, stopping former middleweight world champion Vincenzo Gualtieri in the third round of an IBF middleweight title eliminator on Friday at SAP Center in San Jose on DAZN.

Jones (17-0, 15 KOs), The Ring’s No. 10-ranked middleweight, got off to a stellar start, picking Gualtieri (25-2-1, 8 KOs) apart with his jab and power shots to the head and body in the first two rounds. When the 33-year-old German tried to press the issue, he paid for it, as Jones countered him routinely.

The 24-year-old from Oakland, California, continued to press the issue in the third round. With around one minute left, he worked Gualtieri into a corner before punching through his guard with a left hook and right hand that sent him to the canvas.

Jones stayed on the offensive, and with Gualtieri along the ropes, he dropped him for a second time, this time with a left hook. Referee Edward Collantes stopped the fight at the count of five.

The stoppage victory was Jones’ third in a row.

The IBF title is currently vacant after former unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped following an adverse analytical finding for the performance-enhancing drug Meldonium following a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) test, which scuttled his unification bout with WBA champion Erislandy Lara scheduled for December 6.

Alimkhanuly is still the WBO champion, but he was suspended for one year by the sanctioning body.

Jones entered the bout ranked No. 4 by the IBF, while Gualtieri was No. 5. Gualtieri previously held the IBF middleweight title, but lost the belt when he was stopped in the sixth round of his unification bout against Alimkhanuly in 2023.

In the co-feature:

Safar (20-0, 13 KOs) survived a stiff test to win a narrow split decision against Peralta (18-2-1, 10 KOs). Two judges, Rudy Barragan (116-111) and David Solivan (114-113), scored the bout for Safar, while Melissa McMorrow had it 115-112 for Peralta.

It was a tale of two fights. Safar’s aggression and pressure swung the fight in his favor after a slow start, while Peralta found the most success when he picked off Safar and pot-shotted him. Peralta had his most success in the early and late rounds, which included dropping Safar with a right hand in the second round.

Ultimately, Safar’s aggression and staying on the front foot secured him the close decision. Safar is The Ring’s No. 10-ranked cruiserweight.

In other preliminary fights: