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Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Kenneth 'Bossman' Sims Jr.: Who has the edge?
Arnold Barboza Jr. and Kenneth ‘Bossman’ Sims Jr. cannot afford another loss with each man coming off a painful defeat last year.
That is what makes this the Barboza vs. Sims headliner at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and live on DAZN, on Saturday night so intriguing.
Barboza (32-1, 11 KOs) could not get much going in being outpointed by Teofimo Lopez in Times Square in New York City last May via a unanimous decision loss which marked his first pro defeat. Meanwhile, Sims (22-3-1, 8 KOs) was nipped on the scorecards via a majority decision loss to Oscar Duarte last summer.
Will Barboza put himself back into the title hunt with a rebounding victory? Or will Sims prove to be the better boxer and get closer to running it back with Duarte? With the stakes high, DAZN News examines who has the edge entering this welterweight tilt?
Boxing Styles
Arnold Barboza Jr. operates behind a wide guard, using his range and reach to bury shots into the midsection, while standing his ground with fierce, scrappy boxing on the inside when pressed. The 34-year-old orthodox fighter is more than willing to let his hands go, but his timing and rhythm can be affected by feints — something that Barboza experienced against Lopez.
His style will be up against the measured technique of Kenneth ‘Bossman’ Sims who fights behind the jab, using the stick to control the pace of the fight.
This clash of styles is intriguing as either Barboza’s volume could have him emerge as the aggressor or Sims could dictate the terms of the bout behind his tactical sweet science.
The tilt of the needle goes to Sims here, but ever so slightly.
Edge: Sims
Power
Neither man is known for his power per se, though Barboza might have the more stinging shots due to his high output.
That said, he is coming off a loss where he was outpointed in a boxing lesson from Lopez.
Still, Barboza packs more pop to his punch than Sims and takes this category.
Edge: Barboza
Mental Warfare
Barboza touts the better experience, having fought the likes of Lopez, Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez in his last three fights. Battle-tested veteran savvy comes with experience like that.
That said, Sims seems to think his time is now and he told DAZN News about having learned to not leave a fight in judges’ hands from losing to Oscar Duarte via majority decision.
Perhaps we will see a measured, but more aggressive mindset from Sims.
Banking on that is what gives him the edge here.
Edge: Sims
Who has the edge in Barboza vs. Sims?
This is a tough fight to figure out as both men possess grit and urgency heading into this weekend’s fight. DAZN News has the slight edge going to Sims, 2-1, but that could easily be flipped in Barboza’s favor. If ‘Bossman’ is going to make his move and be a threat at 140 to 147 pounds, he must make a statement against a tried and true Barboza.
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