Junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jnr isn’t in the sport to play backup anymore.
For years, Barboza watched as others in the junior welterweight division – like Jose Ramirez – seized title shots and headlined big fights. Now 32, Barboza came close to calling it quits. But Saturday night, he takes center stage against Ramirez in a DAZN-broadcast bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions titled “Latino Night.”
“This is the moment we wanted. This is what we asked for. It’s God’s timing, and we’re excited – my whole team is ready,” Barboza told BoxingScene. “All the years of frustration and everything I’ve been through have brought me to this fight.”
Barboza’s road to this opportunity has been marked by consistent victories and relentless determination. After standout wins over Jonathan Chicas and Mike Reed in 2017 – both notable tests in their own right – Barboza watched as Ramirez, who stopped Reed, went on to claim the vacant WBC title. In 2019, Barboza scored a knockout over Mike Alvarado, a sparring partner-turned-opponent, as Barboza had sparred Alvarado years prior for his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.
A year later, he defeated Alex Saucedo in a brutal bout that retired Saucedo. Barboza also notched victories over Danielito Zorrilla and two-division titleholder Jose Pedraza. Yet recognition eluded him.
“I went through a lot of depression because of that,” Barboza said. “There were many times I just wanted to hang up the gloves. I’d talk to my pops, but sometimes I wouldn’t want to talk to anyone. I’d just stay home and wonder if a big fight or an opportunity would ever come. I put it all in God’s hands, and the doubts started to fade. Now I’m at a point where I only focus on what I can control – training.”
Barboza, 30-0 (11 KOs), forged his toughness long before people knew his name as a fighter, but during nights spent working at Southern Wine and Spirits while juggling his boxing dreams as a young father.
“I worked seven at night to five in the morning, sometimes till 8.30am or even 11 with mandatory overtime,” Barboza said. “Afterward, I’d sleep in my car for 30 minutes at the park, run, go home to shower, catch three or four hours of sleep, then head to the gym. That was my life for five, six years. There were days I’d come home crying, ready to quit. My mom is tough. She would tell me to quit if it was too hard. But I didn’t want to be that uncle at family parties saying, ‘I could’ve been this, could’ve been that.’”
The Los Angeles based Barboza made his Golden Boy Promotions debut in 2024, which was the career shift he needed. He debuted with a statement, stopping Xolisani Ndongeni in January and found joy in the sport again.
“Golden Boy has done an amazing job promoting me,” Barboza said. “Before, I wasn’t enjoying boxing anymore. Now, I’m enjoying the whole ride – the ring walks, the media attention, everything.”
Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs), 32, from Avenal, California, trains under Robert Garcia in Riverside, California. While Ramirez’s journey eventually led him to Golden Boy, for Barboza, this fight is more than a rivalry – it’s about ensuring he’s not overlooked again, a feeling he had when both were with Top Rank. After a split-decision win over Sean McComb, Barboza understands he’s stepping into the ring with more at stake than ever.
“I respect Ramirez as a fighter and a person,” Barboza said. “I’m making sure I don’t go through what I did with Top Rank. This is my time to show who I am. He’s had his moment, now it’s mine.”
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