Forty-nine seconds into the second round, referee Christopher Young stepped between Omari Jones and Alan Sanchez, and the question that had hung over Jones’s previous three outings was answered. The 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medalist had gone the distance in each of his last three fights. On Friday night at Caribe Royale Orlando, he showed he could close the show. Jones improved to 8-0 with five knockouts, headlining Matchroom’s Project Series 2 on DAZN.
| Detail | Result |
|---|---|
| Winner | Omari Jones |
| Method | TKO |
| Round | 2 (0:49) |
| Division | Junior Middleweight (154 lbs) |
| Scheduled Rounds | 8 |
| Venue | Caribe Royale Orlando, Florida |
| Date | October 2, 2026 |
| Event | Project Series 2 |
| Broadcast | DAZN (US & UK) |
Sanchez fell to 24-8-1. No scorecards were recorded — the fight ended well inside the scheduled eight rounds.
Jones controlled the first round, working behind a long left jab and pressuring from the centre. Sanchez was driven backward by follow-up right hands that consistently connected on the arms and guard.
The finish came early in round two. Hard right hands again drove Sanchez backward, and Jones pinned him in a corner and threw enough follow-up shots to draw the attention of referee Christopher Young. The stoppage came at 0:49 of the round.
“That’s what I wanted,” Jones said in his post-fight media scrum, reported by The Ring. “I felt like I needed to make that dominant statement and get him out of there. I didn’t say nothing, but I wanted to take it round by round. Once I knew that opportunity was there, I saw it early, and I took it.”
The finish matters beyond the knockout number. Jones’s three previous wins — against Jerome Baxter (Jan 2026), Christian Gomez (Mar 2026), and Diego Zuniga (May 2026) — all went the full distance. The Sanchez stoppage added a finishing dimension to his ledger after that run of decisions.
Omari “Banger” Jones was born November 7, 2002, in Orlando, Florida. He is 23 years old. He stands 5’11” (180 cm) and fights in the junior middleweight division. He turned professional in January 2025, signing with Matchroom and Eddie Hearn five months after winning bronze in the welterweight division at the 2024 Paris Olympics — the first American welterweight to medal at the Games since Kenneth Gould at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Eight fights in, Jones is 8-0 with five stoppages and three decisions. Four of those five stoppages came before the scheduled distance. He has fought mostly in Orlando, with appearances also in Atlantic City, Frisco and Houston, building a following that included notable figures at ringside on Friday. He trains under Jason Galarza in Orlando.
Explore his complete fight history in the Boxing Data API.
Alan Sanchez (born February 26, 1991) is a 35-year-old Mexican fighter based in Fairfield, California. He stands 5’11” (180 cm) with a 69-inch reach and fights out of an orthodox stance. He came into the contest with the most professional experience Jones had faced — 32 fights against opponents ranging from California regional level to ProBox and DAZN main cards.
Sanchez entered on a run of three defeats from his last four completed bouts. He had been stopped in four rounds by Nicklaus Flaz in May 2025, and had dropped a decision to Luis Lopez in July 2024. The Jones loss extends a difficult stretch.
| Omari Jones | Alan Sanchez | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 8-0 (5 KOs) | 24-8-1 (10 KOs) |
| Age | 23 | 35 |
| Nationality | USA | Mexico |
| Height | 5’11” (180 cm) | 5’11” (180 cm) |
| Reach | — | 69 in (175 cm) |
| KO Rate | 63% | 42% |
| Stance | — | Orthodox |
The 12-year age gap was always structural. Sanchez’s 10 career stoppages showed some power of his own, but his recent defeats indicated durability had faded.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | Alan Sanchez | W | TKO | 2 |
| May 31, 2026 | Diego Zuniga | W | UD | 8 |
| Mar 22, 2026 | Christian Gomez | W | UD | 8 |
| Jan 25, 2026 | Jerome Baxter | W | UD | 6 |
| Nov 1, 2025 | Yusuph Metu | W | TKO | 3 |
The Sanchez stoppage ended a three-fight run of decision victories. Each of those distance fights added rounds to Jones’s ledger and experience against opponents who moved and clinched; the stoppage added a finishing dimension that had been absent. For context on those earlier performances, see the Omari Jones vs Christian Gomez fight review and the Jones vs Gomez preview.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | Omari Jones | L | TKO | 2 |
| May 10, 2025 | Nicklaus Flaz | L | KO | 4 |
| Sep 2024 | Jose Salvador Briceno Esqueda | W | Decision | — |
| Jul 2024 | Luis Lopez | L | Decision | — |
| Aug 2023 | Angel Gabriel Beltran Villa | L | Decision | — |
Sanchez posted a win in September 2024, but three losses in four bouts across 2023–2026 tell the story of a fighter who was brought in as a credible experience test rather than a threat to Jones’s record.
Jones went the distance three times in a row before this fight — unanimous decisions over Baxter, Gomez and Zuniga. The Sanchez stoppage broke that run and showed Jones could commit to finishing when the opening presented itself; as he told The Ring, he was prepared to go round by round but took the opportunity as soon as he saw it.
The open question for Jones’s development is how he performs when an opponent returns fire. His record at eight fights is shaped by opponents who posed little threat of stopping him; the stoppage count (five in eight) reflects finishing instinct and punch power but not yet resolution under adversity. That test will come as Matchroom moves him up in quality.
He is 23, unbeaten, carrying an Olympic pedigree and a promoter with access to the best junior middleweights in the sport. The platform is in place. The pressure — both in the ring and to deliver major-fight results — will increase.
Friday’s win was Jones’s first main event, and it delivered a hometown stoppage and a clean 8-0 record. The natural next step is a step-up opponent: someone durable enough to survive early combinations and capable of making Jones solve problems rather than just apply pressure.
The card at Caribe Royale also produced:
What was the result of Omari Jones vs Alan Sanchez? Omari Jones won by TKO at 0:49 of round two on October 2, 2026.
Where did the Jones vs Sanchez fight take place? Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida, on the Project Series 2 card promoted by Matchroom and Boxlab Promotions.
What is Omari Jones’s record after beating Alan Sanchez? 8-0 with 5 knockouts.
What is Alan Sanchez’s record after the loss? 24-8-1 with 10 KOs.
How did Jones stop Sanchez? Jones controlled the opening round before hard right hands drove Sanchez to a corner in round two. Jones continued with follow-up combinations until referee Christopher Young stepped in at the 49-second mark.
Was there an Olympic medal holder fighting on the card? Yes. Omari Jones won bronze in the welterweight division at the 2024 Paris Olympics before turning professional with Matchroom in January 2025.
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