Anaheim, CA – Arnold Barboza (32-1, 11 KO) makes his welterweight debut tonight against Kenneth Sims Jr. (22-3-1, 8 KOs). They are led by superstars Oscar Collazo and Gabriela Fundora.
Surprisingly, Barboza is listed as slightly weaker compared to Sims. On DraftKings, Sims is a -170 favorite and Barboza is a +135 underdog. This is Arnold’s first match since losing a unanimous decision to Teofimo Lopez in Novel York last May. Many believe Sims is the better boxer and will look to overtake Barboza by controlling the distance and boxing him to the outside.
However, Barboza has other plans. The extra weight was beneficial for Barboza because he didn’t have to cut as much weight as before. They can follow the diet in a more comfortable way and without having to make any effort to lose weight.
At yesterday’s weigh-in, he said: “I feel faster, stronger. As you know, last night I drank coconut water, I drank water and I ate three hard-boiled eggs before I went to bed. I’ve never done that before. So yes, I’ll feel better. I’ll feel stronger. You know, I feel rested, I feel good.” This could be another Arnold who used the losses and the time in between to get better. He said he learned a lot from the defeat and improved because of it.
As for Kenneth, we have a boxer who has fought in multiple divisions, on and off, fighting at both 140 and 147. His last match was in his hometown against Oscar Duarte last August in Chicago. He seemed much leaner and more muscular than yesterday. He didn’t look physically imposing, he seemed a bit cushioned in the middle of his body.
Although he fought at 140 pounds against Duarte, he physically looked more impressive. This may indicate his preparation for the match. Although he survived the match with Oscar, he suffered some punishment in the fight.
When asked how he can neutralize and counter Sims’ boxing abilities, Barboza replied: “Well, you know, I’m a good boxer too. Um, I’ve fought some really good boxers. You know, I just feel like we’re versatile, like he is. So we’ll be able to counter whatever he wants to bring.”
Barboza has faced mobile boxers in the past, against Sean McComb and Teofimo Lopez. And that’s what Kenneth will want to take advantage of. If Arnold, as he says, takes the time to improve and uses his three-inch reach advantage, he could cause problems for Sims when they get on the field.
He will need to utilize precise timing to catch him from the inside and attack the body to sluggish him down. Barboza has a better resume and is more experienced against top-level competition, having fought the likes of Jack Catterall, Jose Ramirez and Lopez. Victory is within his reach if he fights intelligently; can defeat opponents.
Roy Jones Jr has named one fighter as the “new Canelo” and, by extension, considers them to be the ‘face of boxing’.
Some might argue that Canelo Alvarez remains boxing’s biggest commercial star but, with the 36-year-old approaching retirement, the sport is surely crying out for another mainstream attraction to take his place.
It is also unusual for the four-division world champion that, by the end of this year, he will not have fought on Cinco de Mayo or Mexican Independence Day weekend.
Instead, occupying the latter date earlier this month was Ryan Garciawho retained his WBC world title with a second-round stoppage of Conor Benn, taking his record to 21 knockouts from 26 victories, with just two defeats.
In doing so, the 28-year-old has kept himself in the mix for unification matches with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney but, until such fights materialise, he seems eager to remain active and defend his welterweight belt.
As far as a next opponent goes, Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz has been mentioned as a possible option following his emphatic sixth-round knockout of Nestor Bravo last weekendand it seems that pound-for-pound legend Jones would enjoy that clash.
That is because Jones has told All The Smoke Boxing that Garcia-Cruz is a stylistically similar matchup to Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier.
“Ryan is the new Canelo – everybody wants to see Ryan.
“[Cruz] has the style – the perfect style – that you want to see against Ryan. Ryan’s a classic boxer-puncher; Pitbull is a brawler-puncher. That’s Ali and Frazier, almost.
“Who would not, on planet Earth, want to see that fight?”
“Ryan is the new Canelo!”
Roy makes the case for Pitbull Cruz vs Ryan Garcia being one of the most exciting fights to make in boxing 🎟️👊 pic.twitter.com/PWVwO68sTj
— ALL THE SMOKE Boxing (@atsboxing) September 22, 2026
While Cruz is, indeed, a tenacious brawler-puncher, the 5ft 4in super-lightweight would be contending with a glaring size disadvantage if he moves up to 147lbs and faces Garcia.
A pair of German prospects hope to follow in the footsteps of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who became the first brothers to simultaneously reign as world heavyweight champions.
The two highly-decorated Ukrainians achieved this feat between 2008 and 2013, after Vitali reclaimed his WBC title by dethroning Samuel Peter with an eighth-round finish.
‘Dr. Ironfist’ would then retire from the sport and pursue his political career, while Wladimir became the longest-reigning world heavyweight champion in history before losing to Tyson Fury in 2015.
While holding all four major titles between them, though, the Klitschko brothers established themselves as a dominant force and became mainstream celebrities in Germany.
Since then, the German boxing scene has struggled to generate such widespread attention but, now, over a decade later, Ismet Ademi (24) and Endrit Ademi (21) are bidding to emulate the Klitschko duo.
With seven national titles between them, the pair turned professional earlier this year and caught the eye of several promoters in the UK and US.
It can now be revealed, however, that the Ademi brothers have inked multi-year deals with Ringside Zone, who considers itself the leading boxing promotional outfit in Germany.
With Ismet returning to action on October 10, the 1-0 (1 KO) prospect explained that he and younger brother Endrit, 2-0 (2 KOs), would rather establish themselves on home soil than chase opportunities overseas.
“My brother and I had massive offers from abroad, but Germany is our home and this is where we want to build our legacy.
“Ringside Zone has already shown they can put German fighters in world title fights, and that mattered to us. We made a promise to each other years ago that we would become world champions together – signing here is another step toward keeping it.”
With lofty plans for the future, the Ademi brothers make for intriguing additions to the heavyweight scene as they aim to eventually reach world level and reach the heights that the Klitschko brothers once did.
Muhammad Ali once revealed who he believed to be the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of all time.
Ali is arguably the biggest name to ever grace boxing, becoming a global cultural figure not just for what he accomplished inside of the ring, but also for his activism efforts outside of it.
He was a three-time world heavyweight champion, and claimed wins in a number of epic battles, including the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ against George Foremanand the ‘Thrilla In Manila’ against Joe Frazier.
Ali finished with a record of 56 wins from his 61 professional bouts, and despite all of his success, Ali conceded that another man ranked above him as the number one fighter in boxing history, admitting that he feels Sugar Ray Robinson is deserving of that honour.
“That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful.
“I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Robinson competed professionally from 1940 to 1965, having a remarkable 201 fights during that time, winning 174 of them. At his peak, Robinson once had a record of 129 wins from 132 fights, with 85 of those wins coming by knockout.
He went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak during that time, as he held the world welterweight title for five years, before becoming world middleweight champion on multiple occasions.
Ali isn’t the only boxing legend that believes Robinson is the best ever, with fellow heavyweight icon Mike Tyson also sharing the same view.