BIG BEAR LAKE, California – It’s one thing to enter professional boxing with the allure of an Olympic medal, the backing of a leading promoter or the support of a powerful manager.

For the others, it’s a matter of creating sweat equity with little to no fanfare, performing on the undercards of small casino or hotel convention rooms, accepting higher-risk bouts than the more glamorous prospects and pressing forward when those presiding over the business base every decision on the bottom line.

This is the tale of Southern California’s Arnold Barboza Jnr, who arrives at his long-awaited (or long-denied) title fight against WBO 140lbs champion Teofimo Lopez Jnr 21-1 (13 KOs) Friday night in New York’s Times Square after paying every due and then some to reach this dream bout.

“That’s why I don’t think I can get broken in the ring,” the 33-year-old Barboza 32-0 (11 KOs) told BoxingScene in a recent exclusive interview. “I don’t even care what’s next.

“To me, this is my fight. Like [Juan Manuel] Marquez when he fought [Manny] Pacquiao for the fourth time. I want to beat him so bad, I can’t see past it.”

Much of that has to do with the imbalanced treatment Barboza received in comparison with Lopez by promoter Top Rank. While Barboza says he harbors no resentment toward promoter Bob Arum and Hall of Fame matchmakers Brad Goodman and Bruce Trampler, he opted to leave the company after eight years of remaining unbeaten without a title shot.

Barboza reached Top Rank only after closing his high school football career – beefing up to 215 pounds as a fullback/linebacker – and deciding to return to boxing after he “lost my childhood doing it” before turning to football. 

“I wondered what I was going to do with my life,” Barboza said. “I already had a kid – two by the time I was 22 years old – and I wanted something bigger, didn’t want to work a typical job in a warehouse and just get by.”

He signed a minor deal with late promoter Gary Shaw and took three club-show bouts before going out of the ring for 1 ½ years because he lacked a promoter.

During the lull, Barboza took a full-time, graveyard-hours job doing the backbreaking work of distributing alcohol for a Southern California company.

“We’d walk on modules, like 12 to 13 miles a night, throwing cases … it was such hard work. I wish I had someone make a video of it,” Barboza said.

“I’d get done at 8 in the morning, maybe later … get out of there with my big old boots on because it was a hard-labor job and I’d go to the park, sleep in my car for 30 minutes, change my boots and get into sweats, and go run.

“Then, I’d go home, eat my breakfast, go to sleep for three-fours, go to the boxing gym, then change and go to work again. It made me so weak. Your body’s meant to sleep. And I would have to manage my diet. That job supported me, but my dad [and trainer] said, ‘It’s either work or boxing.’ I could’ve accepted the job, it paid well.

“But I decided to roll the dice instead.”

Barboza was invited to spar former 140lbs champion Mike Alvarado as Alvarado prepared for a bout against Marquez, and Alvarado was so impressed he recommended Barboza to Top Rank’s Goodman.

Thanks to a new fight series, Top Rank was in search of fighters who could sell tickets. Barboza could do that both with his fighting style and his interest in marketing himself.

“I’d get family to go and call people on the phone, ‘Hey, you want to go to the fight?’” Barboza said. “By the week of the fight, I was really hustling, bringing about 300 people. I always have good support, got about 2,000 to my first fight at Staples Center. My fans have always been like that – very loyal, more than just social-media followers.”

It became clear to Top Rank that the company had a bona-fide talent on its hands, but Barboza didn’t come with the hype of being placed on high-profile cards as Lopez was as he moved up.

Instead, Barboza was tasked with meeting accomplished foes in lesser-noticed spots – Mike Reed on a Carson undercard, Alvarado on a Staples Center support bout, Alex Saucedo in The Bubble during the COVID era.

He didn’t notice in his first Top Rank contract that the company had the right to extend the deal two more years, which it did.

“It was frustrating, and I’d wonder, ‘Why am I fighting? I’m not getting the big fights. No one wants to fight me.’” Barboza said.

When those five years were up, he asked how much longer he’d need to wait for a title shot.

He recalls being told, “We’ve got all the top 140lbs fighters, so there’s a big possibility we’ll get you a title fight.”

A Lopez fight never materialized.

“It was obvious they couldn’t do any more for me. I love Top Rank, we left on good terms, I said thank you,” Barboza said.

With Golden Boy, he’s accepted more rugged non-title work, barely avoiding an upset by Sean McComb in April 2024, then defeating former unified 140lbs champion Jose Ramirez in November before venturing to the U.K. to edge England’s Jack Catterall by split-decision in February.

That boxed in Lopez, establishing Barboza as the WBO’s interim champion and moving Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh to make the lucrative bout that opens a three-fight Friday DAZN card that also includes Devin Haney versus Ramirez and Ryan Garcia versus Rolly Romero for the WBA secondary welterweight title.

“I literally put his back to the wall,” Barboza said of Lopez, who slapped Barboza’s face at the Los Angeles news conference hyping the card. “He has to fight me. We will get the best Teofimo because I’m his toughest fight to date.”

Although he also promotes Garcia and Ramirez, Oscar De La Hoya predicts the best fight of the three will be Barboza-Lopez.

“Our fight has the highest stakes. It’s for a belt and bad blood,” Barboza said. “I’ve obviously wanted this fight for a long time. I’m excited to get in there and win.

“Nothing can take me out of my game plan mentally in boxing. I’ve already been through so much. It’s why I train here. If 15,000 [British] fans booing me can’t take me out of my game plan, what’s some trash talking going to do? I have a job to do and I plan on executing my game plan.” 

Everything has been a grind for Barboza. He carries to Friday’s ring the varied experiences of never being coddled, knowing nothing in the sport has been gifted to him. Because no short-cuts existed.

“We beat a former Olympian and unified champion [in Ramirez], went to England for Catterall and now I’m taking on a world champion … my confidence is high coming off these wins and my activity has been non-stop,” Barboza said.

“I just can’t wait for the whole world to see who I am. I’ve just got to go perform.”