Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs) captured the WBO interim light welterweight title on Saturday night, beating Jack Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs) in a defensive battle in front of a mostly quiet crowd at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. The judges were kind to Catterall to give him so many rounds, as he only appeared to win the fourth. Barboza Jr. controlled 11 of the 12 rounds, showing that he wanted it more against the overly cautious, timid Catterall.
Lack of Engagement
It’s not that the fans at ringside wanted to be silent. They didn’t have much to cheer about because their fighter, Catterall, wasn’t throwing many punches, unwilling to engage, and failing to stand his ground.
The scores
115-113 Barboza
115-113 Catterall
115-113 Barboza
Catterall, 31, only showed a bit of ambition in round four when he repeatedly hit Barboza Jr. with a lead left hands, and it looked so easy. It’s unclear why he didn’t continue showing that same aggression the rest of the way because he’s had so much success in that round with his shots when he wasn’t second-guessing himself. One got the sense that Catterall was thinking too much and not fighting on instinct the way he needed to for him to defeat a highly technical fighter like Barboza.
In the championship rounds, Catterall seemed to fold mentally, throwing view punches and letting Barboza Jr. dictate the terms of the fight.
Going into the fight, Catterall had a reputation for being the British version of Shakur Stevenson, and he certainly proved that tonight. He was actually an even more safety-first version of Shakur, and that’s saying a lot.
Barboza’s Future
Barboza Jr’s win tonight puts him in a position where he’ll likely be elevated to full WBO light welterweight champion status soon because the current champ, Teofimo Lopez, isn’t going to fight him. Teofimo has NEVER wanted to fight Barboza Jr, and he’s got too many other nice-paying options to risk a loss to him.
As for Catterall, this is a bitter pill for him to swallow, as it took him three years to rebuild from his loss to Josh Taylor in 2022. Unless his promoter, Eddie Hearn, can line him up with title shots, it could take years for him to get in position again to fight for another world title. None of the champions are going to willingly fight Catterall because he’s not popular and has the Shakur style of fighting that makes him undesirable.
