Arnold Barboza Jr is not a fan of Rolando Romero.
On January 6, Barboza stopped the usually durable Xolisani Ndongeni in the eighth round in his Golden Boy Promotions debut.
Barboza Jr is hoping for a quick return but following his latest win, he got into an argument with the current WBA junior-welterweight champion, Rolando Romero.
“That guy is a clown, bro,” Barboza Jr told ProBox TV. “He is just a waste of energy. He is not all there, bro. He is a trip. He makes me laugh more than anything. We were cool, and then he just flipped the switch, so it is what it is.”
“We had more than a conversation at the fight. He told me, ‘You called out everybody but the champion.’ ‘Champion? You’re the worst champion ever at [junior-welterweight]. No one considers you a champion’.”
Looking at Barboza Jr’s last fight from a numbers perspective shows why he is a formidable force. The 32-year-old undefeated fighter overwhelmed his opponent with technical volume, landing 210 out of 436 punches. He landed his power shots at 58 per cent and landed, on average, six body shots a round.
“That guy is a funny trash-talker<’ Barboza added. “It kind of makes me laugh now that I think about it.”
Barboza Jr. hopes to return in March or April. He is looking to stay active in 2024, and put pressure on Teofimo Lopez, who holds the WBO junior-welterweight title that he is the No. 1 contender for, but Romero might emerge as an interesting future rival given their recent conflict.
