Arnold Barboza Jr. wins decision over Kenneth Sims Jr. in welterweight main event

Arnold Barboza Jr. returned to the win column Saturday night with a unanimous decision victory over Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. in the 12-round welterweight main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card broadcast on DAZN.

The bout matched two fighters moving up from the 140-pound division. Barboza relied on his jab and footwork from the opening round, keeping Sims at a distance and forcing the Chicago veteran to chase the fight. It was a completely different version of Barboza Jr. than the one in his last fight a year ago against Teofimo Lopez. Moving up to 147 has made a new man.

Barboza set the tone early by circling the ring and stepping in with quick combinations. Sims landed a few right hands and counters, but he struggled to keep Barboza in range long enough to follow up.

Through the middle rounds, Barboza stayed disciplined. He stepped in with short bursts of punches and moved away before Sims could answer. The cleaner shots continued to come from Barboza as the fight moved past the halfway point.

Sims tried to push forward and look for openings, especially with the right hand. He had brief moments where he connected, though Barboza’s movement and jab kept him from building much offense.

Barboza kept the same approach in the later rounds, using his jab and footwork to control the distance. Both fighters traded more openly in the final round, but Barboza again appeared to land the sharper punches as the bout closed.

The judges scored the contest widely in Barboza’s favor, returning cards of 117-111, 118-110, and 120-108.

The fight took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. With the victory, Barboza improved to 33-1 with 11 knockouts, while Sims fell to 22-3-1 with eight knockouts.

After the fight, Barboza called for a bigger name at welterweight. He mentioned Ryan Garcia, Devin Haney, and Rolando “Rolly” Romero as opponents he would like to face next, saying he wants one of them in his next bout. The way Barboza Jr. looked tonight, he’d have an excellent chance of beating all three of those fighters if given the chance to fight them.