Arnold Barboza Jr. (born December 9, 1991) is an American professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Organization (Interim version) light welterweight world title in 2025. As of April 2025, he is ranked as the world's fourth-best active light welterweight by The Ring.
Professional career Barboza made his professional debut as a welterweight on June 14, 2013, scoring a six-round unanimous decision (UD) victory against Gustavo Lopez at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California.
After compiling a record of 19–0 (7 KOs) he defeated Manuel Lopez via ten-round UD on December 14, 2018, capturing the vacant WBC-NABF Junior light welterweight title at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. All three judges scored the bout 100–90. Barboza scored another three victories in 2019; a third-round knockout (KO) to retain his title against former world title challenger Mike Alvarado in April; a fourth-round stoppage via corner retirement (RTD) against Ricky Sismundo in a non-title bout in August; and a second successful defence of his title against William Silva via fifth-round KO in November.
Barboza Jr. faced Tony Luis on August 29, 2020, in his first fight of the year. He won the bout by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 99–90 in his favor. Barboza Jr. was booked to face the one-time WBO light welterweight title challenger Alex Saucedo for the vacant WBO International light welterweight title on October 17, 2020. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 96–93, 97–92 and 97–92.
Barboza made his first WBO International title defense against Antonio Moran on August 14, 2021, on the undercard of the Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney trilogy bout. He won the fight by a dominant unanimous decision, with scores of 99–91, 100–90 and 99–91.
Barboza was scheduled to face Sean McComb on April 20, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York billing as the co-main event of the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney bout. Barboza won the fight via controversial split decision to retain his WBO Intercontinental junior welterweight title.
On 16 November 2024, he beat José Ramírez by unanimous decision in a 10-round bout at The Venue Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Barboza faced Jack Catterall in a WBO super lightweight title eliminator on 15 February 2025 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. He won by split decision.
Barboza unsuccessfully challenged Teofimo Lopez for his WBO super lightweight title, losing a unanimous decision in Times Square in New York City, on May 2, 2025.
Barboza returned to the ring to face Kenneth Sims Jr. in a welterweight debut at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on March 14, 2026. He won via unanimous decision.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes34Win33–1Kenneth Sims Jr. UD12Mar 14, 202633Loss32–1Teofimo LopezUD12May 2, 202532Win32–0Jack CatterallSD12Feb 15, 202531Win31–0José RamírezUD10Nov 16, 202430Win30–0Seán McCombSD10Apr 20, 202429 Win29–0Xolisani NdongeniRTD8 (10), Jan 6, 202428Win28–0José PedrazaUD10Feb 3, 202327Win27–0Danielito ZorrillaUD10Jul 15, 202226Win26–0Antonio MoranUD10Aug 14, 202125Win25–0Alex SaucedoUD10Oct 17, 202024Win24–0Tony LuisUD10Aug 29, 202023Win23–0William SilvaKO5 (10), Nov 30, 201922Win22–0Ricky Sismundo4 (10), Aug 17, 201921Win21–0Mike AlvaradoKO3 (10), Apr 12, 201920Win20–0Manuel Damairias LopezUD10Dec 14, 201819Win19–0Luis Solís5 (10), Aug 25, 201818Win18–0Mike ReedUD10Mar 10, 201817Win17–0Jonathan ChicasUD8Aug 5, 201716Win16–0Markus MorrisKO5 (8), Apr 28, 201715Win15–0Johnny RodríguezUD8Jan 27, 201714Win14–0Martin Angel MartinezUD6Dec 15, 201613Win13–0John David CharlesUD6Jul 16, 201612Win12–0John NaterKO2 (6), May 14, 201611Win11–0Maximilliano BecerraUD6Mar 12, 201610Win10–0Robbie CannonKO1 (6), Jan 30, 20169Win9–0Rony Óscar AlvaradoKO6 (6), Dec 12, 20158Win8–0Lionel JimenezUD6Jul 25, 20157Win7–0Brandon AdamsUD6May 30, 20156Win6–0James HarrisonKO4 (6), Mar 14, 20155Win5–0Taif Harris1 (4), Jan 17, 20154Win4–0Samuel GarciaUD4Dec 6, 20143Win3–0Douglas RosalesUD4Oct 19, 20132Win2–0Vicente GuzmanUD4Aug 9, 20131Win1–0Gustavo Lopez6Jun 14, 2013
References