ANAHEIM, Calif. – For what he has been through in the 10 months since the worst performance of his career, Arnold Barboza Jnr couldn’t wait to celebrate this one.
The former WBO interim 140lbs titlist Barboza immediately sprinted across the ring and mounted a corner post the moment the bell sounded to end his clash with Kenneth Sims Jnr.
Barboza’s effort in the pivotal welterweight affair was well reflected on the scorecards of judges Jerry Cantu (117-111), Ivan Guillermo (118-110) and Dr. Lou Moret (120-108) in their DAZN main event Saturday evening from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Barboza, 33-1 (15 KOs), was coming off a career-worst performance in a disappointing defeat to then-WBO 140lbs champ Teofimo Lopez Jnr last May in New York City. He went into a deep depression, and didn’t even want to watch boxing for several months.
“I’m not gonna lie, I went through some shit,” Barboza said after the fight. “But those who stayed with me, they’re with me until the wheels fall off.”
His renewed purpose also included the decision to leave behind 140lbs in favor of welterweight. The proof was in the pudding, as Barboza delivered arguably his best performance as a pro.
“I’m telling you, I ate a piece of steak on Tuesday,” quipped Barboza.
Although the performance was brilliant, the fight took a few rounds to get off the track.
In a fight in which both boxers badly needed a win, neither seemed too committed to blowing the other out of the water. The passionate crowd – many on hand in support of El Monte, California, native Barboza – constantly voiced its displeasure during the early rounds, which bore greater resemblance to a fencing match than a prizefight.
Sims, 22-4-1 (8 KOs) – a switch-hitter by trade – initially fought out of a southpaw stance. It produced minimal success, given his considerably low punch output. His approach was in stark contrast to his vow not to leave anything in the hands of the judges after coming up just short versus Mexico’s Oscar Duarte in his own Chicago hometown last summer.
Barboza wasn’t much more active, but he offered just enough aggression to give the impression he was in control during the early portion of the contest. Sims struggled to close the gap, even when he switched to a conventional stance.
That changed, if only for a moment, late in the fourth round. Boos began to rain down before Barboza connected, only for him to get caught by a right hand. The brief burst of action changed the jeers to cheers and it even carried over into the early portions of the fifth round.
However, any momentum gained by Sims was quickly squandered. Barboza resumed control and appeared to be the considerably more comfortable fighter at welterweight, after both regularly campaigned in the 140lbs division.
Sims offered more movement in the sixth, a wise tactic given his disinterest in meeting Barboza on the inside. The adjustment allowed the visiting fighter to pot-shot from the outside, including a right hand that briefly caused a crouched Barboza to lose his balance.
It also stalled the developing swelling under Sims’ right eye, which his corner was able to maintain in between rounds.
Barboza went to the jab at the start of Round 7. Sims forced the former interim titlist to follow him around the ring, though Barboza made him pay with a flush right hand down the middle. Action slowed, to the dismay of the crowd, which let the in-ring participants have it. Sims responded with a right hand, briefly satisfying the audience’s thirst.
Combination punching by Barboza caused fits for Sims early in Round 8. The left jab in particular landed with greater frequency, as Sims’ vision was compromised from a nearly shut right eye. Barboza played defense as well, slipping a right hand and coming back with a right hand to the body.
With the fight further slipping away after more of the same in Round 9, Sims came out with greater purpose in the 10th frame. He made a point to fight at close quarters and was more liberal with his combinations. Barboza took advantage of not having to find Sims and managed to land heavy jabs both upstairs and to the body.
Ironically, a clash of heads in the 11th round drew the biggest rise out of the crowd, as well as both boxers. The sequence left Barboza with a stream of blood from a cut high atop his forehead, but it didn’t deter him from taking the fight to Sims.
A right hand by Sims midway through the 12th and final round was perhaps his best moment of the fight. Barboza immediately responded and controlled the action down the stretch to seal his first victory since a split decision over former title challenger Jack Catterall last February in Manchester, England.
That win against Catterall followed Barboza’s triumph over former unified 140lbs titlist Jose Ramirez in a November 2024 battle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Those two fights, coupled with Saturday’s victory over Sims, gives Barboza the three best victories of his career.
As for Sims, the next steps are unclear. Once a streaking 140lbs contender, he is now at a career crossroads, with two straight defeats. The narrow loss to Duarte came in a valiant effort; Saturday’s clash left the 32-year-old Sims as a man without a country – not at all a good fit for 147lbs and facing a challenge to draw attention at his previous weight.
The swing is in stark contrast to Barboza’s self-belief that a new threat has emerged at welterweight. On his current hit list are newly crowned WBC claimant Ryan Garcia, WBO beltholder Devin Haney and WBA titleholder Rolando Romero.
The most realistic next option, however, was the fighter who joined him in the ring afterward and who won on the night’s undercard. Alexis Rocha, of Santa Ana, outpointed fellow Californian Joseph “JoJo” Diaz – a faded former 130lbs titlist from South El Monte and a longtime friend of Barboza’s.
It was nothing but love between Barboza and Rocha when the fight was suggested.
“Yeah man, let’s do this,” Barboza said. “We’ll fucking pack this place out.”
