Author: Sean Crose

Arnold Barboza Jr. made his welterweight debut on Saturday night, defeating Kenneth Sims Jr. While Sims certainly didn’t have a bad reputation, it was Barboza that all eyes were on at the Honda Center. Saturday’s fight, which was to take place at 12:00, was Barboza’s first appearance in the ring after losing to Teofimo Lopez. This may have been Barboza’s only loss, but he hasn’t fought since, which meant fans were probably wondering where his mind was, at least at the moment. Indeed, fighting Sims can answer many questions.

The first few rounds were quick and tense. Each fighter tried to take the momentum, but being so early in the fight, it was too close to tell who was more assertive. One thing was certain, Barboza was the faster and stronger puncher of both fighters. This was not good news for Sims, who was supposed to be a more stylistically refined fighter in the ring. With that in mind, it was a very close fight in which either fighter could have easily walked away from the ring with a victory decision.

As the fight came to an end, the fans began to boo. Fights in California tend to be – or at least often – explosive. But it wasn’t that kind of fight. The DAZN broadcast team called it a chess match and they got it right. It just didn’t seem like the fight was going to produce any fireworks. Still, it was a good match in which Barboza seemed to outperform his determined opponent and Sims continued to try to land his fleet more often.

There was a headbutt in the later rounds, of which Barbosa suffered the worst. But that wasn’t enough to stop him. The final rounds were the same as the rest of the entire fight… the ones that were dominated by Barboza. Sims gave it his all, but on Saturday night he simply didn’t have what it took to beat Barboza. Suffice it to say, Barboza left the ring with a unanimous decision victory added to his resume. It was clearly deserved. If anything is certain, it is that Barboza has made a sturdy move into the welterweight division. It will be captivating to see where his career goes.

Oscar Collazo and Gabriela Fundora retained their titles with dominant stoppage victories Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

It should also be added that former interim champion Arnold Barboza Jr. impressed in his welterweight debut, defeating Kenneth Sims Jr. by wide unanimous decision.

Unified strawweight champion Collazo (14-0, 11 KO) retained his WBA and WBO titles with a sustained body attack that knocked down Jesus Haro and forced him to retire on his stool slow in the sixth round.

Haro put up little resistance when Collazo started boxing and increased the pressure when he realized his opponent had nothing for him. After three rounds, Puerto Rico’s Collazo began driving tough shots to the body, with Haro flinching in pain with each powerful shot. The outcome was inevitable as Haro (13-4, 2 KO) began to retreat and take cover under fire.

Haro ran out of gas after six rounds and elected to stay in his corner for round 7, leading to Collazo’s fourth straight stoppage. Collazo landed 128 of 287 punches (44.5%) compared to 38 of 229 (16.5%) for Haro.

Fundora (18-0, 10 KO) strengthened her position in the undisputed flyweight championship with a one-sided stoppage of Viviana Ruiz. Fundora, the fourth-ranked pound-for-pound player in ESPN’s rankings, easily dissected Ruiz, using her height and reach advantage to secure her fourth straight stoppage win.

Ruiz, 43, may have been two decades older than Fundora, but the age difference wasn’t the reason she couldn’t muster enough strikes against the women’s flyweight queen. Fundora (23) used her jabs and movements to keep Ruiz (10-3, 5 KO) on the outside and without a window to break through. Still, she tried to put pressure on Fundora and paid the price by finding herself on the wrong side of a punch combo. Fundora landed her with a left hand in the fifth round and set the stage for the finish.

In Round 7, Fundora sat on her punches and attacked the challenger, leaving referee Ray Corona no choice to step in and decide to stop the fight. Fundora is teasing a move up to 108 pounds, which is a scary proposition for her potential opponents. But first she wanted to make sure fans were satisfied with her dominance and finishing skills.

“I just want the fans to go home every time and say, ‘Damn, she got another knockout,’” Fundora said.

Barboza (32-1, 11 KO) returned to the win streak against Sims after suffering the first loss of his professional career against Teofimo Lopez last May.

Barboza was a step ahead of Sims in almost every possible way, as he boxed beautifully, suffered little injury other than head-butting wounds, and appears to be a formidable fighter in the 147-pound weight class.

Barboza took control of the fight early and was never forced to give up the convenience of dissecting Sims through 12 rounds. Not known for his finishing skills, Barboza focused on the good moments and controlled the distance. He never allowed Sims to set up a sustained attack and either comboed or moved out of range.

The judges scored the fight 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108 for the fighter from Long Beach.

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In the main event, WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Southpaw “Jazza” Dickens (36-6 (15), 129¼ pounds) of Liverpool, United Kingdom lost to former IBF and IBO Super Featherweight World Champion Southpaw Anthony “Apache” Cacace (25-1 (9), 129½ pounds) of Belfast, Northern Ireland in 12 rounds.

In the first two rounds, Dickens had a slight advantage, using his jab effectively. In the third round, Dickens controlled most of the action until the final seconds when Cacace landed a left to the chin that stunned him.

In the fourth round, Cacace came out aggressive, putting Dickens on the defensive for most of the round and clearly winning it. From the fifth to the seventh round, Cacace used his reach advantage to overtake Dickens.

Dickens came back well in the eighth and ninth rounds, and a clash of heads in the final minute of the ninth seemed to trouble Cacace. In the tenth round, Cacace again had the advantage.

Cacace continued the action in the eleventh round. In the twelfth and final round, Dickens seemed to need a knockout and began throwing wild punches, while Cacace countered with a right to the chin midway through the round.

The scores were 115–113, 116–112 and 116–113.

Referee: Luis Pabon.

WBC International Super Lightweight Champion Pierce “Large Bang” O’Leary (19-0 (11), 139½ pounds from Dublin, Ireland) defeated former British Champion and IBO Southpaw Maxi “Maximus” Hughes (29-9-2 (6), 139¾ pounds from Rossington, Yorkshire, United Kingdom) delayed in the fifth round for the vacant IBO super lightweight title in the scheduled 12th round.

O’Leary defeated Hughes in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, a counterattack, a left hook from O’Leary to the chin, rocked Hughes.

In the fifth round, Hughes’ right eye began to close from O’Leary’s left hooks. Near the end of the round, Hughes’ corner stopped the fight.

Referee: Jean Robert-Laine.

Super featherweight contender Jono “King Kong” Carroll (26-3-1 (7), 129 pounds from Dublin, Ireland) won a split decision over Colm “Posh Boy” Murphy (16-1 (6), 129 pounds from Belfast, Northern Ireland) after 12 rounds for the vacant IBO super featherweight title.

In the first four rounds, Carroll and Murphy even played two rounds apiece. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Murphy had the advantage.

Carroll responded in the seventh and eighth innings. Murphy defeated Carroll in the ninth round.

The tenth round brought the crowd to their feet as Carroll managed to work on the body. In the eleventh round, a clash of heads caused a cut on the left side of Murphy’s head.

In the twelfth and final round, Carroll seemed to have done enough to secure victory in a close fight.

The scores were 116-112 Murphy, 116-112 Carroll and 117-111 Carroll.

Referee: Roberto Ramirez Jr.

Lightweight Steven “The Irish Takeover” Cairns (14-0 (9), 134½ pounds from Cork, Ireland) defeated Arnie “The Terminator” Dawson (8-2 (4), 134¾ pounds from Clacton, Essex, United Kingdom) at 1:38 of the ninth round of the scheduled 10.

In the ninth round, Cairns dropped Dawson three times, forcing referee Giuseppe Quartarone to stop the fight.

Eoghan Lavin, 8-0 (4), 159¾ pounds from Ballyhaunis, Ireland, defeated Liam “Kingdom Kid” Walsh (9-1-2 (4), 158¼ pounds from Kenmare, Ireland) at 1:22 of the eighth and final round.

In the eighth round, Lavin knocked down Walsh, prompting referee Emile Tiedt to stop the fight.

Former British and Commonwealth lightweight champion Ryan “Piranha” Garner (19-0 (10), 137¾ pounds from Southampton, United Kingdom) defeated Cristian “El Gato Gordo” Bielma (19-13-2 (7), 138¾ pounds from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico) at 1:07 of the third round of the scheduled eight rounds.

In the first round, Garner cut the nose of Endosperm and controlled the action with his hand speed. In the second round, Garner landed well, although Bielma managed to land a left hook to the chin that knocked Garner’s head back delayed in the round. In the third round, a series of unanswered punches from Garner caused referee David Irving to stop the fight.

Welterweight Barry McReynolds 4-0 (2), 142.5 pounds from Belfast, Northern Ireland defeated Jonatas “The Marajoara Monster” Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-39 (5), 139½ pounds) from Sao Sebastiao de Boa Vista in Para, Brazil over four rounds.

Judge Emile Tiedt scored the fight 40-36.

Adam Olaniyan, 1-0 (1), 242 pounds, of Tallaght, Ireland, defeated Jan Bezouska (2-3 (2), 301 pounds of Pardubice, Czech Republic) at 0:59 of the first round of a scheduled four-round bout.

Bezouska attacked Olaniyan early and was caught with a right to the side of the head after 25 seconds, before referee Paul McCullagh counted to eight. Moments later, Olaniyan dropped him face to face with another punch to the head, ending the fight.

Gary Welterweight Gary “The Diva” Cully, 19-2 (10), 142¾ pounds, of Naas, Ireland, defeated Benito Sanchez Garcia, 17-18-4 (5), 143 pounds, of Jalisco, Mexico, over six rounds.

Judge Padraig O’Reachtagain scored it 60-54.

Thomas “The Bomber” Carty (11-1 (9), 263 pounds) of Dublin, Ireland defeated German Skobenko (6-19-2 (2), 245 pounds) of Makiivka, Ukraine, fighting from Tashkent, Uzbekistan over six rounds.

Referee Paul McCullagh scored the fight 60-54.

Middleweight Bobbi Flood, 1-0 (1), 155¼ pounds from Dublin, Ireland, defeated Bela Istvan Orban (6-20-2 (4), 152¼ pounds from Kecskemet, Hungary) at 1:08 of the first round.

Flood scored two knockdowns before referee David John Irving stopped the fight.

Ring announcer: Thomas Driver.