Arnold Barboza makes an impressive welterweight debut

He stated that he felt physically good after the fight and could go another 10 rounds if necessary. The move up in weight appears to be long overdue, as the additional 7 pounds has greatly benefited him in the ring. He was accurate with his punches, reactive and energetic.

The oddsmakers had Barboza as the slight underdog, and after the fight he said the odds were wrong again. After his strong showing on Saturday night, it looks like he may be fighting in a showdown in Southern California with Golden Boy stablemate Alexis Rocha, who fought on the same card.

Rocha defeated Joseph Diaz by unanimous decision. Alexis came into the ring after Arnold’s win, attracting a potential match. “We can do it next, I’m down,” Barboza told Rocha. Wie responded to Barboza with, “Congratulations, dawg, but I think Santa Ana and South El Monte will suffer war.”

Both fighters also called out Ryan Garcia after their respective bouts, but it looks like Ryan sees a rematch against Devin Haney in the near future. A Barboza-Rocha bout appears to be the more viable option, with the winner potentially earning a shot at Garcia.

After the fight, he told the media that he was also interested in rematching Teofimo Lopez at 147 and offered Jack Catterall the option to avenge his loss, but he turned down his numerous requests for a rematch. He said he would really like to fight for a title against either welterweight champion if possible and is even open to fighting Keyshawn Davis, who he finds annoying on Instagram.

Barboza demonstrated on Saturday night that he still has a lot left and is hungry to earn a title shot. “I know Rocha wanted to fight, but honestly, I’d love to fight a bigger fight, but hey, if I can’t get a bigger name, then we can go Rocha,” Barboza said of his future plans.

He suffered a cut in the eleventh round for which he received stitches. After it is stitched,
he and Sims shared a moment in the locker room, showing each other respect after going twelve rounds. Barboza said he told Sims, “I’m a Christian, and I’m a big believer in God. I told him, I’m not praying for victory, I’m just praying to keep us healthy. So, we can both go back to our beautiful families.”