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Arnold Barboza Jr. Decisions Kenneth Sims Jr. To
Become The New WBO Global Welterweight Titleholder
AND THE NEW WBO Global Welterweight Titleholder Arnold
Barboza Jr. (33-1, 11 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif.,
defeated Chicago’s Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (22-3-1, 8
KOs) in a 12-round welterweight showdown broadcast live
worldwide exclusively on DAZN from Honda Center. Barboza
dominated the bout and battled through a headbutt suffered
in the 11th round to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Judges scored the contest 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111.
“That was a tough fight. I went through a little bit of a
dark moment there, but I pushed through it. People were
asking me before the fight, saying I had fallen off or that
I wasn’t the same fighter anymore. But tonight I showed that
I’m still here," said Arnold Barboza Jr. "Fighting at 147
made a big difference for me. I’m telling you, I even had a
steak on Tuesday — something I couldn’t normally do before.
My body just felt stronger and more energized. Credit to my
strength and conditioning coach and the work we’ve been
putting in during training camp. I felt like I could have
gone another 10 rounds if I had to.
Continued Barboza, "Kenneth Sims is a very smart fighter. We
expected it to be a chess match, and it was. But it came
down to preparation. My dad and I put in a lot of hard work.
We isolate ourselves in camp, away from family. I even
missed my daughter’s birthday on the 10th. Those are
sacrifices that come with the sport. Moments like tonight
make it feel worth it."
"Yeah, the scores were crazy, but the score doesn’t matter
now. I didn’t win the fight. It’s cool though. I’m a
140-pounder, so I’ll go back to where I’m best at," said
Kenneth Sims Jr. "I’ve got to get better. Get better, do
better, be smarter. It comes with the territory. I’ve been
doing this my whole life, so I know this feeling and I know
how to deal with it."
AND STILL Puerto Rico’s unified WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine
Minimumweight World Champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo
(13-0, 10 KOs) successfully defended his titles against
Mexico’s Jesus “Chiquito” Haro (13-4, 2 KOs). The referee
waved off the fight at the end of the sixth round following
the advice of Haro’s corner. The co-main event was
co-promoted with Miguel Cotto Promotions.
In an action-packed contest, Santa Ana’s Alexis “Lex” Rocha
(26-2-1, 16 KOs) defeated former world champion Joseph
“JoJo” Diaz Jr. (34-9-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte in a
10-round showdown that went the distance. Rocha earned a
unanimous decision victory with judges’ scores of 97-93,
98-92 and 100-90.
AND STILL Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine
Flyweight World Champion Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora
(18-0, 10 KOs) successfully defended her titles against
Australia-based Colombian WBA Interim World Champion Viviana
Ruiz Corredor (10-3, 5 KOs). Fundora displayed her power and
control throughout the fight, scoring a fourth-round
knockdown before securing the stoppage at 1:25 of the sixth
round. The 10-round clash was co-promoted by Sampson Boxing.
Opening the DAZN broadcast, Bakersfield’s rising knockout
artist and still WBA Continental Gold welterweight
titleholder Joel Iriarte (10-0, 9 KOs) delivered a knockout
victory over Los Angeles’ Rock Myrthil (17-3-1, 13 KOs).
Scheduled for eight rounds of welterweight action, Iriarte
closed the show with a sixth-round stoppage at 2:35.
The preliminary card streamed live on Golden Boy’s YouTube
channel and highlighted the promotion’s top prospects.
Representing the Coachella Valley, the still-undefeated
Grant Flores (13-0, 9 KOs) added another victory to his
record in an eight-round super welterweight bout against Los
Angeles’ Rashid Stevens (6-2-2, 5 KOs). Flores scored
knockdowns in the first and eighth rounds, but Stevens
showed resilience to go the distance. Judges scored the bout
79-70, 77-72 and 78-71. Coachella Valley standout Cayden
Griffiths (8-0, 7 KOs) added a highlight-reel first-round
knockout to his resume with a victory over Guadalajara’s
Omar Munguia (8-3-1, 6 KOs). Scheduled for six rounds of
super welterweight action, Munguia was dropped twice by
Griffiths’ power before the referee waved off the fight at
2:09 of the opening round.
In a fiery back-and-forth contest, Santa Ana’s Fabian Guzman
(10-0, 8 KOs) went toe-to-toe with Corpus Christi, Texas
native Julian Delgado (9-2, 4 KOs) in an eight-round
middleweight bout that went the distance. Guzman earned the
unanimous decision victory with scores of 77-75, 79-73 and
79-73. Scheduled for eight rounds in the lightweight
division, Denver’s Daniel “Junebug” Garcia (13-0, 10 KOs)
stopped Blas Caro (12-10, 5 KOs) of Rosario, Argentina, via
second-round knockout at 2:45. Opening the night, Leonardo
“Bazooka” Sanchez (10-0, 8 KOs) defeated Cesar Juarez
(31-20, 24 KOs) via second-round TKO. Scheduled for six
rounds of lightweight action, Sanchez used his power to drop
Juarez early in the round. Although Juarez beat the count,
his corner threw in the towel at 2:45.
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