Arnold Barboza Jnr achieved a lifelong dream last year of winning a major title (albeit a secondary version) and is chasing the feeling again.

Next up for the former interim WBO 140lbs titleholder is a crossroads bout with Kenneth Sims Jnr. DAZN will air their scheduled 12-round welterweight contest on March 14 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The bout is Barboza's first since a disappointing 12-round defeat to then-140lbs champion Teofimo Lopez last May. Barboza earned the fight with a win over Jack Catterall three months prior in England, a thrill that can never be taken away from him.

“It was one of the best moments of my life,” Barboza told BoxingScene of his win over Catterall. “To do it in hostile territory, not a lot of people can say they did that.”

The win came with the secondary version of the WBO title, which he was able to roll up into a title consolidation fight with Lopez.

Barboza, 32-1 (11 KOs), started his career as a local ticket seller on the club scene. He was selling tickets to get on shows, and got an opportunity with a major promoter after providing high-quality sparring to Mike Alvarado ahead of his fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Even after having the backing of Top Rank, nothing came easy for Barboza. He fought an assortment of tough veterans, but was unable to land a big fight. 

In 2023, Barboza signed with Golden Boy Promotions. Two years later, he landed the two biggest fights of his career. 

The showdown with Catterall was preceded by his victory over former unified titlist Jose Ramirez in November. He fought three times in rapid succession in 2024. Barboza recalled the week of the fight. 

“I knew I was going to win,” Barboza said. “ I was so hungry heading into that fight.”

He also remembered that things didn’t always go smoothly, as he felt tension on many different levels, being a foreign fighter facing a local fighter who was looking to obtain glory. 

Barboza, now 34, went to a major soccer game the week of the fight, but what stood out was the gym where he trained. Roberto Duran was there, and he even got a bit of last-minute advice from the legend. Barboza recalls that his immediate joy was for his father, Arnold Barboza Snr, as they had accomplished a dream from the ground up together. 

“I was prouder for my dad, so he could say he had a world champion,” Barboza said. “It was amazing, and I am looking for that feeling again.”

In his upcoming fight, he will be changing weight class, moving up to welterweight, a division where he started his career. Barboza has spent the past few years training in Big Bear Lake, California.

“The altitude and the solitude are a big thing,” Barboza said of Big Bear. “You train, eat, sleep, and repeat.”

Barboza spent years as an undercard fighter, then it felt like he got stuck in the co-feature spot, while young fighters got opportunities before him. When he won the belt, even though it was an interim title, it was an achievement he had worked for since 2013. 

“This is what the hard work is for, this is what missing the birthdays, the holidays, was for,” Barboza said. “For my hand to be raised, the feeling was amazing. I wish every boxer could feel that.”

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.