MORENO VALLEY, California – Whether it’s the confidence of participating in his second consecutive main event or the impending birth of his first child, Mexico’s Oscar Duarte says he’s been infused with a champion’s mindset.
He is poised to take a bold step toward the ability to realize that pursuit.
Mexico’s Duarte 29-2-1 (23 KOs) hits the road this weekend, when he travels to Kenneth Sims Jnr’s hometown in Chicago, Illinois. The pair of junior welterweight contenders will meet in a 12-round DAZN main event from Credit Union 1 Arena (formerly UIC Pavilion).
“[The] winner on Saturday will definitely get a shot for a title,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya told BoxingScene. “Sims is the real deal and [this] will be a 50-50 fight [that] should be action-packed.”
Assuring that point will be Duarte, 29, who has won three consecutive bouts since his December 2023 knockout loss to former title challenger Ryan Garcia.
The run includes a knockout of former featherweight champion Joseph Diaz Jnr, a more convincing triumph of common Sims opponent Batyr Akhmedov and a seventh-round knockout of Miguel Madueno in a February 15 DAZN main event in Anaheim, California.
De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions is so bullish on Duarte it signed him to a new two-year extension. The freshly-inked deal will be consummated with his latest headlining act.
“I’m very excited and motivated,” Duarte told BoxingScene recently following a session with returning trainer of the year Robert Garcia. “I feel right now like I am a world champion. It will just take a little more time for the world title to come to me, but it will come. I feel like I have it now. I enjoy the work everyday.”
Duarte is ranked No. 5 in the WBA 140lbs rankings, one spot behind No. 4 Sims. Gary Antuanne Russell is the current titleholder.
Sims is also No. 7 in the IBF, whose belt is held by unbeaten Richardson Hitchins.
If Duarte had his wish, however, he would first seek the WBC belt. Subriel Matias recently edged the Dominican Republic’s Alberto Puello to claim the title on July 12 in Queens, New York. The hard-hitting Puerto Rican immediately became a target for Duarte.
“After I win this fight, I’ll talk to [Matias] and tell him, ‘I want you,’” vowed the streaking contender.
Duarte has embraced the art of trash talking. Immediate material was provided with this very matchup, which was previously scheduled for last November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sims, 22-2-1 (8 KOs), blamed an arm injury for not being able to previously fight Duarte.
The chatter grew more intense before Sims defeated Kendo Castaneda by unanimous decision on Duarte’s undercard in February.
“Kenneth Sims talks, talks, talks … he’s a good fighter, he’s elegant, but he’s been ducking me,” Duarte insisted. “I’m ready to see him in the ring. No more talking. See you in the ring.”
Sims is generally viewed as the more technical boxer of the two.
That viewpoint was factored into Duarte’s preparation. The aim is to take away any perceived advantage tipped to Sims, including Duarte’s hope for a strong turnout from Chicago’s vibrant Latino presence to overwhelm Sims’ expectations of a hometown advantage.
“There’s more strategy in this camp, because Kenneth Sims is a good fighter in the ring, but I feel good about my abilities – my speed, movement and my mind. I’m ready for this.”
Duarte has been winning fights by applying an abundance of pressure to mute thoughtful execution.
“I’m thinking I’ll stick with my strategy of being physical and pressuring him, focusing on the victory. I want a world title. My division is competitive and one of the most exciting because the fighters have power and speed,” Duarte said.
“It’s not like the one-punch heavyweight group, or in middleweight, where it takes so many punches to knock anyone out. This division has speed and power.”
Adding to the division’s depth is Duarte, who now has the additional motivation of fighting for his child who’s due in later August, a girl he and his wife will name Maria Paula.
“I feel nobody can beat me at this weight,” he said.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
