Arnold Barboza Jr Eyes Ryan Garcia Fight

Arnold Barboza Jr (32-1, 11 KOs) is all set to face Kenneth Sims Jr (22-3-1, 8 KOs) for their long-awaited bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday night. While his upcoming fight stands barely a day away, it sure looks like he has an opponent in mind for his next fight, WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.

Barboza Jr isn’t one to claim that he will have an easy day at work against Sims Jr. In fact, he believes in the contrary, as he prepares for an undoubtedly tough fight.

“Sims presents a big challenge in a new weight class. This is going to be a really tough fight, but I feel like I am going to be stronger, faster, and bigger. Not a lot of people take a fighter like Sims after a loss, so I needed to take a tough fight to get in the welterweight race,” he said.

Barboza Jr is certain that his opponent will be bringing in “a lot of everything.” But he stated that he wants to tread cautiously, stay vigilant, set the pace, and set the tone to handle everything Sims brings.

Meanwhile, with the fight gaining momentum, he hopes that a potential victory will set him up for an immediate title shot against Garcia.

“Hopefully, Golden Boy can make that fight happen. Ryan Garcia has big plans, but those fights he’s going after may be harder to make than ours. I’m a thousand percent ready to fight him. A lot of the other guys are tied up, so the opportunity could be right there,” he said. “The Ryan Garcia fight is definitely a possibility and one that interests me a lot.”

“Need To Remind Everyone”

Photo by Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy/Getty Images

Another factor that connects both fighters is that they are coming off major losses: Sims Jr against Oscar Duarte and Barboza Jr against Teofimo Lopez. According to Barboza, this makes winning the upcoming fight even more dire for both fighters.

“This is a very big fight for both of us. Sims is in a similar situation, coming off a loss, and we’re at the point in our careers where we need to show up to see who’s going to the next level. I’ve been at the top before, and now I need to remind everyone,” he said.


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