Arnold Barboza Jr says Teofimo Lopez may be hungry, but he’s starving ahead of Friday’s fight.
Arnold Barboza Jr will finally get his crack at a world title when he faces Teofimo Lopez on Friday in Times Square, with Teofimo’s WBO 140 lb belt on the line.
Barboza (32-0, 11 KO) has quietly built his record over the years, seemingly stuck in place when under Top Rank’s banner, but has scored back-to-back strong wins over Jose Ramirez and Jack Catterall after moving to Golden Boy, and now he’s got the fight he’s been chasing.
Barboza, 33, believes he’s simply better than Teofimo, and that he also wants it more.
“He’s hungry, I’m starving. He wants to win, I need to win. And I believe I’m overall a better fighter,” Barboza told DAZN.
While Barboza is looking to finally prove he’s a true top dog at 140, Lopez (21-1, 13 KO) is once again looking to quiet some critics, after a recent run of performances that have often felt uninspired, following his rise as a young knockout merchant who upset Vasiliy Lomachenko back in 2020.
Since then, Lopez is 5-1, but has struggled to impress in victory, and followed the Loma upset win with a big upset loss to George Kambosos Jr a year later.
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