Anaheim, California – Arnold Barboza (32-1, 11 KOs) makes his welterweight debut tonight against Kenneth Sims Jr. (22-3-1, 8 KOs). They headline a stacked card featuring stars Oscar Collazo and Gabriela Fundora.
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Surprisingly, Barboza is listed as slightly underrated compared to Sims. As DraftKings lists Sims as the favorite at -170 and Barboza as the underdog at +135. This is Arnold’s first fight since his unanimous decision loss to Teofimo Lopez last May in New York. Many believe that Sims is the better boxer who will want to target Barboza by controlling the distance and boxing him from the outside.
Barboza, however, has other plans. The extra weight has benefited Barboza in that he doesn’t have to cut as much weight as before. He can eat comfortably and effortlessly to lose weight.
At yesterday’s weigh-in he said, “Man, I feel fast, I’m strong, as you know last night I drank coconut water and crunch water and ate three hard-boiled eggs before I went to bed, I’ve never done that before. So, yes, I’m going to feel better. I’m going to feel stronger. You know, I feel rested, I feel good. This could be a different Arnold, who took the loss and the time in between to improve. He revealed that there’s a lot what he learned from this loss and has improved because of it.
As for Kenneth, we have a boxer who has fought in multiple divisions on and off, fighting at both 140 and 147. In his last fight, he fought in his hometown against Oscar Duarte last August in Chicago. He looked sharper and more muscular than yesterday. He didn’t look good physically, he seemed soft in the middle.
Although the match against Duarte was contested at 140, he looked physically strong. This could be an indication of his preparation for the game. Although he survived the match against Oscar, he was punished for that fight.
When asked how he can slow down and counter Sims’ boxing ability, Barboza said, “You know, I’m a good boxer. Um, I’ve fought some really good boxers, you know, I feel like we’re as well-rounded as he is. So, we’ll be able to handle anything he wants to throw.”
Barboza has struggled against traveling boxers in the past, against Sean McComb and Teofimo Lopez. That’s what Kenneth will want to exploit. If Arnold takes the time to develop, as he says, and takes advantage of his three-inch reach, he could give Sims a hard time on the inside.
He will have to use precise timing to catch him inside and attack the body to slow him down. Barboza has a solid career resume and is more experienced against top-level competition, having fought Jack Catterall, Jose Ramirez and Lopez. Victory is in his hand if he fights wisely; he knows how to defeat the contenders.
Last updated on 2026/03/14 at 7:35 PM
