Arnold Barboza Jr. pulled off an upset on February 15 when he faced Jack Catterall at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Battling it out in the main event, the unbeaten contender from Long Beach, CA defeated the British southpaw by decision.
The pair went head-to-head for 12 rounds at super lightweight. In the end, one judge scored the fight 115-113 in favor of the representative of the host country, while two other judges had the same score for the guest from the U.S.
With the victory by split decision, Arnold Barboza Jr. landed the interim WBO 140-pound belt. The 33-year-old improved to 32-0, 11 KOs, and remained undefeated.
“I honestly didn’t have it that close. I thought I won way more rounds,” Barboza said. “But you know what, it’s his backyard.”
31-year-old Jack Catterall dropped to 30-2, 13 KOs. The defeat snapped his four-fight winning streak.
“Tricky fight, close fight. There is no arguments. Congratulations to Barboza,” Catterall said. “I thought I’ve just done enough in there tonight, but that wasn’t good enough.”