Former WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza Jr. are in negotiations for them to meet in September on DAZN.
Golden Boy’s In-House Battle
Both fighters are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, making it an in-house fight that makes a lot of sense. It’s unclear if this would be a title eliminator for one of the belts at 140.
Barboza Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) is ranked #1 WBO, and Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) is rated #4 with the same organization.
The current WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez has shown no desire to fight the 32-year-old Barboza, and it will take him becoming mandatory for him to finally get a chance to face the reluctant, risk-averse champ.
Dan Rafael reports that Golden Boy wants to schedule the September Ramirez vs. Barboza Jr. fight. Ramirez’s career has slowed since he lost his WBC and WBO 140-lb titles three years ago in a 12-round Josh Taylor fight on May 22, 2021, in Las Vegas.
Since that loss, Ramirez has fought just three times, beating Rances Barthelemy, Richard Commey, and Jose Pedraza. Ramirez should have fought twice as many fights by now because his career has been languishing.
He’s gotten nowhere due to his inactivity, still waiting for his opportunity to fight for another belt three years after losing his belts. That’s the downside of fighters who fail to stay active.
Barboza Jr.’s Quest for a Title Shot
Barboza Jr. is coming off a highly controversial 10-round split decision win over Sean McComb on April 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. McComb completely outboxed and outfought Barboza the entire fight but found himself on the receiving end of a questionable win.
It’s hard to believe that the 11-year professional Barboza Jr. is older than Ramirez, yet despite sporting an unbeaten record, he has never fought for a world title during his long career.
Barboza’s management has failed him because he should have fought for a world title many times over by this point in his career with his unbeaten record.
Barboza’s problem is that he’s not been matched against the right opposition, which would put him in a position to fight for a world title.
That has hampered his career, keeping him on the sidelines fighting little-known fighters who haven’t put him in a spot where he could force an unwilling world champion like WBO belt-holder Teofimo to fight him.
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