Arnold Barboza Jr. believes he’s the “better” fighter and has the edge over WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez in their undercard fight on the Fatal Fury card on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City.
Avoiding the Fight
Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) hasn’t made the big money that Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) has with the millions he’s gotten, and he can’t wait to dethrone him on Turki Alalshikh’s card. This is a fight that Teofimo has resisted for the last three years.
He just hasn’t wanted to mix it up with Barboza Jr., and the only way to read that is to view it as plain old-fashioned fear. Teo is afraid. He knows what Barboza Jr. could do to his career if he trounces him like George Kambosos Jr. did four years ago, and he doesn’t want that to happen.
Some people believe Top Rank has artificially propped Teofimo up since his loss to Kambosos, intentionally matching him against beatable opposition to keep him winning and to take advantage of his popularity in Brooklyn, New York. Without their help, Lopez would have been on skid row a long time ago, given up on, stuck fighting on undercards, being used as a trial horse.
Money vs. Hunger
“I think he’s a good fighter, but I think I’m better,” said Arnold Barboza Jr. to MillCity Boxing, talking about WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez ahead of their fight on May 2nd at Times Square in New York City. “He might be starving, but I’m hungry. He might want to win, but I need to win.”
Teofimo has made a lot of money in the last five years since his 12-round unanimous decision over Vasily Lomachenko on October 17, 2020. He’d have made much more if he’d stayed busy, fought three times a year, and been more willing to take risks. Lopez has been playing it safe, taking easier fights against these guys since his big win over Loma:
– Steve Claggett
– Jamaine Ortiz
– Josh Taylor
– Sandor Martin
– Pedro Campa
– George Kambosos Jr
Haney-Ramirez
“I think because of his last fight with me, people are writing him off. But I’m putting my money on [Jose] Ramirez right now,” said Barboza Jr. when asked about his thoughts on a fight between Devin Haney and Jose Ramirez on the Fatal Fury card on May 2nd. “It’s going to be at a catchweight of 144, so he’s going to be less drained at the weight.
“Who knows how Haney is at that Ryan beating, because he took a beating. That s*** was no joke. He did get his jaw cracked open. Once you have your jaw cracked open like that, who knows how you recover. I think this is the perfect fight for Ramirez. I got him winning, I honestly do and I’m rooting for him.
“I already told him I was going to help him in camp to spar him. We already talked about it. Hopefully, he pulls it off,” said Barboza Jr. about Ramirez in his fight against Haney.
Many people believe Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is making a mistake fighting Jose Ramirez in his first fight back after absorbing a beating from Ryan Garcia on April 20th last year at the Barclays Center. Turki Alalshikh wanted high-quality fights on his Times Square card, and if it hadn’t been for Ramirez, it may have been someone equally tough. You can imagine Haney’s reaction if he were facing Gary Antuanne Russell instead.
It would be weird for Barboza Jr. to spar with Ramirez after defeating him by a 10-round unanimous decision on November 16th last year. Barboza Jr. dominated the first half of the fight, but Ramirez came on in the second half to make it close at the end. The scores were 97-93, 96-94, and 96-94.
Last Updated on 03/03/2025
