Omari Jones showed Saturday night why many within the boxing industry have touted the Olympic bronze medalist as such a promising professional prospect.
The 6-foot-1 Jones unloaded an array of power punches on overmatched Italian veteran Alessio Mastronunzio for almost 3½ minutes before Jones’ pro debut, scheduled as a six-round junior middleweight match, was stopped on the Austin “Ammo” Williams-Patrice Volny undercard in Jones’ hometown of Orlando, Florida. Cautious referee Luis Pabon stepped between them and declared Jones the winner 22 seconds into the second round at Caribe Royale Orlando.
There weren’t any knockdowns, but the pro-Jones crowd cheered loudly when Jones won his first fight since he was forced to settle for a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“It felt like I was back at the Olympics,” Jones told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in the ring. “I’m just home now. Like I been saying through the whole press conference, that, you know, it was nothing new to me. Shout out to USA Boxing, you know, for giving me the platform and being able to shine on big stages and things like that, to have me prepared for this moment, the big stage they would say. So, I been ready. No nerves. I just come out and do what I was born for.”
Mastronunzio dropped to 14-6 (4 KOs) and lost by knockout or technical knockout for the third time in six years as a pro.
Keith Idec is a staff writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.