New Golden Boy Promotions signee, unbeaten light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr., wants to battle the winner of tonight’s fight between Ryan Garcia & Oscar Duarte.
It’ll be interesting to see what Golden Boy does with Barboza because his previous promoter didn’t give him the fight that he wanted against a reluctant Teofimo Lopez, who was dead set against the idea of facing the talented Southern California native.
Barboza, 31, would be a nightmare for either of those fighters, and it’s difficult to imagine those fights happening, especially in the fast of Ryan. If he wins tonight against Duarte, he says he wants to fight for a world title against Teofimo or the Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis winner.
The #1 WBO 140-lb contender Barboza (28-0, 10 KOs) has been waiting for a title shot against champion Teofimo Lopez, but he’s had no luck in getting his shot.
It’s unknown why the World Boxing Organization hasn’t ordered Teofimo to defend against Barboza because he appears to be just sitting on the WBO title, doing nothing with it, waiting for a big fight to fall into his lap.
Golden Boy signs Barboza
“A new [Golden Boy Promotions] signee gets an opportunity to show the world in time that he’s not a suspect,” said Bernard Hopkins to Fighthype about light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr.
“I’m 28-0, and I’ve been fighting top contenders,” said Barboza. “I’ve been fighting top ten guys in the top four fights. I signed with Golden Boy to make big fights for this coming year.
Barboza’s best wins:
Jose Zepeda
Danielito Zorrilla
Alex Saucedo
Antonio Moran
Barboza Jr. did a much better job beating the tough Danielito Zorrilla by a ten round unanimous decision in July last last year than Regis Prograis did in his fight with the crafty, hard-hitting Puerto Rican last June.
Inactivity could be an issue for Barboza if he doesn’t get back in the ring soon because he hasn’t fought since last February, and it’s likely that he’ll have been out of the ring for an entire year by the time Golden Boy gets him back in action.
It’s not good for a 31-year-old to be out of the ring for as long as Barboza, particularly given that his resume is already thin.
“The winner of this fight [Ryan Garcia vs. Oscar Duarte],” said Barboza Jr. when asked what big fights he wants. “We’re always available, we’re always ready. We’re ready to hit it hard.
“I’m #1 with the WBO. Teofimo is there, but we know he don’t want to fight. Then we go down the list. The winner of Haney-Regis. We could do Subriel [Matias, the IBF light welterweight champion]. We could do [WBA 140-lb champ] Rolly [Romero].”
It was weird the way that Hopkins was calling Barboza a prospect because he’s a ten-year pro and ranked #1 with the World Boxing Organization. He’s NOT a prospect and is heading toward becoming a veteran if Golden Boy doesn’t get him busy.
“I want a champion first. If I can’t get a champion, then it would be Ryan or a big name like that,” said Barboza Jr. “To be honest, I don’t know [why he hasn’t gotten a title shot]. I’ve done my part. Like I said. In my last four fights, I’ve fought top ten guys.”
Barboza wants title shot or Garcia-Duarte winner
“I think it’s a matter that now we’ve signed with Golden Boy, I have that push, and now we have a promoter behind us to back us up. We’re ready to go,” said Barboza.
“I think it’s a good chance,” said Barboza when asked about the chance of him getting into a fight with Ryan Garcia. “Like I said. My first priority is getting a belt. That’s my dream. I’ve been in the division for a long time. So, if I can’t get that, Ryan will be next up because he’s a big name.”
Barboza is the guy that Ryan should have fought tonight instead of Duarde, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. This guy has too much talent and would ruin the potential big-money fights ahead for Ryan against Devin Haney, Teofimo, or Gervonta Davis.
The best option the 31-year-old Barboza has to get a title shot would be to fight IBF light welterweight champion Subriel Matias because Golden Boy won’t have much luck setting up fights with the other 140-lb champions. Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney vs. Regis Prograis winner or Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero won’t be interested in fighting Barboza because he’s too talented and not a big name.
“He’s right there at the door, as you heard him say,” said Hopkins. “Let’s not forget that the weight division [140] is hot. He’s got options as far as which way he wants to go. There are many names for him to fight. I’m excited to see him get his chance. The world is his [Barboza] oyster,” said Bernard about Barboza.
