Arnold Barboza jr. Say he will make WBO Light Welterweight Champion Theofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 COs) regret fighting him years ago when he challenged him for his belt on Times Square in New York on May 2.
Years of waiting
Barboza jr. (32-0, 11 CO’s) is still irritated that it took him so long to have the chance to challenge theofimo for his WBO belt, because he has been high with the sanction body for centuries. Lopez ignored his exclamations and chose to fight opposition more easily. Top rank chose TheOFIMO’s opposition, so they partly blame.
“I knew he didn’t want to fight me for a reason. He fights against guys like Campa and Claggett, guys not at my level. Right now he is fighting me at the worst time he could. He should have fought me at the time, ”said Arnold Barboza jr. Ring magazine About how Theofimo Lopez has avoided him for the past three years since 2022.
Theofimo said on Monday that he was not Barboza jr. All these years do not avoid. He said he was being offered greater battles against Josh Taylor, George Kambosos Jr. and Vasily Lomachenko. However, this does not explain why Lopez chose to fight against these guys instead of Barboza JR:
– Steve Claggett
– Kailaine Ortiz
– Sandor Martin
Underdog mentality
“Our train doesn’t stop. We fought two of the top guys (Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez) in the last three, four and five months. This is about to be the third in the past seven months. I’m like an Old School Throwback now.
“I fight to the level of my opponent. Teo is supposed to be one of the best. People doubt me. That’s fine. I went to Saudi as the underdog, I went to the UK as an underdog and I come to New York as an underdog. Many people earn a lot of money from me, ”says Barboza Jr.
Fans doubt Barboza jr. Because he is not as well known as theofimo. Because of his fighting style, he was an edge on his head, but many people had not yet had the chance to see him.
Barboza’s fight against Jack Catterall on February 15 was the first time in his twelve -year professional career that he was in the main meeting. All the other battles of Barboza JR were buried on lower cards, which kept fans from seeing him. Most casual box fans focus only on headlines.
Top Rank has done a good job of turning theo into a minor star. He would have been much more popular than he is now if he was busy, he did not lose against Kambosos, and he was more open to taking risky fights against fighters such as Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson and Keyshawn Davis.
Last updated on 03/05/2025
 regret that he didn't fight him years ago when he challenges){kind=link}