Arnold Barboza Jr. Shines in Welterweight Debut, Defeats Kenneth Sims Jr. to Claim Wbo Global Welterweight Title
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 15 Mar 2026
Collazo Defends Unified Titles, Fundora Retains Undisputed Crown; Rocha and Iriarte Also Victorious
ANAHEIM, Calif. (March 14, 2026) — AND THE NEW WBO Global Welterweight Titleholder Arnold Barboza Jr. (33-1, 11 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif., defeated Chicago’s Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (22-3-1, 8 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight showdown broadcast live worldwide exclusively on DAZN from Honda Center. Barboza dominated the bout and battled through a headbutt suffered in the 11th round to secure a unanimous decision victory. Judges scored the contest 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111.
“That was a tough fight. I went through a little bit of a dark moment there, but I pushed through it. People were asking me before the fight, saying I had fallen off or that I wasn’t the same fighter anymore. But tonight I showed that I’m still here," said Arnold Barboza Jr. "Fighting at 147 made a big difference for me. I’m telling you, I even had a steak on Tuesday — something I couldn’t normally do before. My body just felt stronger and more energized. Credit to my strength and conditioning coach and the work we’ve been putting in during training camp. I felt like I could have gone another 10 rounds if I had to.
Continued Barboza, "Kenneth Sims is a very smart fighter. We expected it to be a chess match, and it was. But it came down to preparation. My dad and I put in a lot of hard work. We isolate ourselves in camp, away from family. I even missed my daughter’s birthday on the 10th. Those are sacrifices that come with the sport. Moments like tonight make it feel worth it."
"Yeah, the scores were crazy, but the score doesn’t matter now. I didn’t win the fight. It’s cool though. I’m a 140-pounder, so I’ll go back to where I’m best at," said Kenneth Sims Jr. "I’ve got to get better. Get better, do better, be smarter. It comes with the territory. I’ve been doing this my whole life, so I know this feeling and I know how to deal with it."
AND STILL Puerto Rico’s unified WBA, WBO and Ring Magazine Minimumweight World Champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (13-0, 10 KOs) successfully defended his titles against Mexico’s Jesus “Chiquito” Haro (13-4, 2 KOs). The referee waved off the fight at the end of the sixth round following the advice of Haro’s corner. The co-main event was co-promoted with Miguel Cotto Promotions.
In an action-packed contest, Santa Ana’s Alexis “Lex” Rocha (26-2-1, 16 KOs) defeated former world champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (34-9-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte in a 10-round showdown that went the distance. Rocha earned a unanimous decision victory with judges’ scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 100-90.
AND STILL Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine Flyweight World Champion Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (18-0, 10 KOs) successfully defended her titles against Australia-based Colombian WBA Interim World Champion Viviana Ruiz Corredor (10-3, 5 KOs). Fundora displayed her power and control throughout the fight, scoring a fourth-round knockdown before securing the stoppage at 1:25 of the sixth round. The 10-round clash was co-promoted by Sampson Boxing.
Opening the DAZN broadcast, Bakersfield’s rising knockout artist and still WBA Continental Gold welterweight titleholder Joel Iriarte (10-0, 9 KOs) delivered a knockout victory over Los Angeles’ Rock Myrthil (17-3-1, 13 KOs). Scheduled for eight rounds of welterweight action, Iriarte closed the show with a sixth-round stoppage at 2:35.
The preliminary card streamed live on Golden Boy’s YouTube channel and highlighted the promotion’s top prospects. Representing the Coachella Valley, the still-undefeated Grant Flores (13-0, 9 KOs) added another victory to his record in an eight-round super welterweight bout against Los Angeles’ Rashid Stevens (6-2-2, 5 KOs). Flores scored knockdowns in the first and eighth rounds, but Stevens showed resilience to go the distance. Judges scored the bout 79-70, 77-72 and 78-71. Coachella Valley standout Cayden Griffiths (8-0, 7 KOs) added a highlight-reel first-round knockout to his resume with a victory over Guadalajara’s Omar Munguia (8-3-1, 6 KOs). Scheduled for six rounds of super welterweight action, Munguia was dropped twice by Griffiths’ power before the referee waved off the fight at 2:09 of the opening round.
In a fiery back-and-forth contest, Santa Ana’s Fabian Guzman (10-0, 8 KOs) went toe-to-toe with Corpus Christi, Texas native Julian Delgado (9-2, 4 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight bout that went the distance. Guzman earned the unanimous decision victory with scores of 77-75, 79-73 and 79-73. Scheduled for eight rounds in the lightweight division, Denver’s Daniel “Junebug” Garcia (13-0, 10 KOs) stopped Blas Caro (12-10, 5 KOs) of Rosario, Argentina, via second-round knockout at 2:45. Opening the night, Leonardo “Bazooka” Sanchez (10-0, 8 KOs) defeated Cesar Juarez (31-20, 24 KOs) via second-round TKO. Scheduled for six rounds of lightweight action, Sanchez used his power to drop Juarez early in the round. Although Juarez beat the count, his corner threw in the towel at 2:45.
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Barboza Jr. vs. Sims Jr. was a 12-round fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event will be available worldwide to all subscribers on DAZN, both live and on demand.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #BarbozaJrSimsJr
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