American super lightweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. has made an intriguing move by joining Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions after spending most of his professional career under Top Rank. Barboza, who has not secured a substantial world title fight in any of the weight classes he’s competed in, likely made the move to enhance his chances of competing for a world title. Barboza has also been added to Golden Boy’s December 2nd fight card which will be headlined by the popular Ryan Garcia and Oscar Duarte.
Arnold Barboza Jr.’s (28-0, 10 KO’s) contract with Top Rank reportedly expired in July. Now, the 140-pounder, at 31 years old, has found a new promotional home. Having somewhat flown under the radar while with Top Rank, Barboza may now receive an opportunity for world title glory with Golden Boy Promotions. The move provides him access to a broader pool of fighters since Golden Boy is aligned with DAZN, which also features other promotions like Matchroom.
While under Top Rank, the only super lightweight champion was WBO titleholder Teofimo Lopez (19-1, 13 KO’s). However, with Lopez’s retirement status presumably still active, there seemed to be no avenue for Barboza Jr. to secure a title shot through him.
PBC, a promotion/management organization, holds one super lightweight world champion in Subriel Matias (19-1, 19 KO’s). However, with PBC yet to secure a new broadcaster since the dissolution of Showtime Sports, Barboza’s chances of facing Matias also appeared slim.
UK-based promotion Matchroom has its own world champion at 140 lbs in Regis Prograis (29-1, 24 KO’s), who is scheduled to face former undisputed and current unified lightweight champion Devin Haney (30-0, 15 KO’s). Since Golden Boy and Matchroom are both associated with the DAZN streaming service, Barboza has a decent chance of landing a fight against the winner between Prograis and Haney.
The WBA super lightweight belt is currently vacant, with the potential resolution through a match between Ohara Davies (25-2, 18 KO’s) and Ismael Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KO’s). If Davies emerges as the winner, his recent signing to Golden Boy could offer Barboza another opportunity to contend for a world title, provided WBA champion-in-recess Rolando Romero (15-1, 13 KO’s) remains unavailable due to injury.
Beyond the present and future champions in the division, Golden Boy and Matchroom also feature several super lightweight contenders. Barboza now has the chance to position himself for a shot at a world title, particularly against the likes of Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KO’s) and Liam Paro (23-0, 14 KO’s), both of whom are within reach of title contention.
Arnold Barboza’s move to Golden Boy appears promising for his career, bringing him closer to world title contention. The fights that lie ahead offer him an opportunity to make a positive impact and further establish himself in the division, especially now that he will be fighting on December 2nd, the same card as Garcia who is in pole position to contend for a world title at 140 lbs himself in the near future.
