Why Arnold Barboza Jr’s Recent Run Gives Him the Edge Against Teofimo Lopez

Trainer Robert Garcia favors Arnold Barboza to defeat WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez on May 2nd due to the great run he’s had recently. Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) is coming off of back-to-back wins over Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez. He’s looking hard to beat.

Barboza is accurate with his punches, and very hard to hit. He’s similar to Jamaine Ortiz, a fighter that Teofimo had big problems against in their fight on February 8th last year. Jamaine made Teo look bad in that fight.

Arnold’s Advantages

– Recent activity
– Better opposition
– Punch accuracy
– Jab
– Mobility

It’s not just Barboza Jr. being the busier fighter that gives him an advantage. He’s been facing better opposition than Lopez recently, and that counts. Top Rank hasn’t been matching Teo fought since his loss to George Kambosos Jr. in 2021, and some believe they’ve been protecting their investment.

It’s hard to argue against that in looking at the fighters Teofimo has faced in the last four years. He’s continued to win, but his popularity has plateaued because he hasn’t fought high-level opposition.

Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) slapped Barboza Jr. during their press conference on Monday, and he hit the roof. Arnold says Teo “Crossed the line,” and he’s going to take it out on him in their fight at Times Square in New York.

“They don’t like each other, and they went at it. It was a pretty hard slap. It’s going to be more fan-friendly, but it’s part of the sport,” said Robert Garcia to Fight Hub TV about Teofimo Lopez slapping Arnold Barboza Jr. during their kickoff press conference in Los Angeles.

“I think Arnold is on a great run right now with two good wins [Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez] back-to-back and coming back soon. That favors him,” Robert continued about Barboza Jr. “This will be his third fight in less than a year. I think activity is a big advantage for Arnold.

“Obviously, you can’t count Teofimo out. He’s a talented fighter and a smart man inside the ring. He knows how to do it when he’s at his best. Hopefully, we get the best out of Teofimo so we can see a great fight.”

Lopez’s punching power and aggressiveness is what he has going for him because he can knockout Barboza Jr. or hurt him if he can catch him with one of his shots when he’s coming in. Arnold likes to jump in to throw shots, and that puts him in a vulnerable situation where he can be countered. Catterall landed some nice shots on him, but he didn’t have the power to hurt him.