On January 9, 1953, Castellani defeated Ralph Jones at Madison Square Garden before 5,400 fans in an important win before a home crowd that clearly favored Castellani as their local boy."Castellani Wins Split Decision From Jones", The Los Angeles Times, pg. 40, 10 January 1953 The Associated Press gave the fight to Rocky, winning six rounds, losing three, and drawing one. Only one judge dissented from a voting for Castellani, resulting in a split decision."Rocky Castellani Too Speedy for Jones", The Terre Haute Tribune, Terre Haute, Indiana, pg. 6, 10 January 1953 The win moved Castellani to the second round of the World Middleweight Championship tournament to meet Sugar Ray Robinson for the title. Jones was never able to fight in close as Castellani circled, jabbed, hooked, and threw leading rights. Castellani clinched, armlocked or hugged when Jones attempted in-fighting, and was also successful at backing away to avoid the close shots at which Jones could be dangerous. His ability to backpedal so effectively may have indicated better conditioning than his opponent. There were no knockdowns in the close bout in which Castellani seemed to employ a more effective strategy. The bout was a convincing display of in-fighting defense by Castellani, who claimed he had learned Jones's style by watching his bout with Johnny Bratton on television. Jones' strongest winning round was the fifth when he swept Castellani with sweeping body attacks, and he was down from slips in the seventh and tenth rounds.Lee, Joe, "Castellani Gains Langlois Booking", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, pg. 6, 10 January 1953"Rocky Castellani Gets Nod Over Jones", The Gazette and Daily Newspapers, York, Pennsylvania, pg. 21, 10 January 1953
