Arnold Barboza Jr. beat Jack Catterall with a tense split decision in Manchester, England, on Saturday in their WBO junior welterweight title eliminator.
Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) snatched the victory after two judges scored the fight 115-113 in his favor, while the third scored it 115-113 for Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs).
The result makes Barboza the mandatory challenger to WBO champion Teofimo Lopez.
“I honestly didn’t have it that close. I thought I [won] more rounds but this is his backyard, man,” Barboza said in the ring afterward.
“Since I been little, I didn’t care about fitting in, I just wanted respect since I was a kid. I got my respect today; my father got his respect today.”
The early rounds unfolded as Catterall often prefers, figuring out his opponent and inviting him to advance.
By Round 4, after Barboza had success with the right hand in the third, Catterall started to build combinations, but the American still looked to come forward and impose himself.
As he did against Regis Prograis in October, Catterall advanced more as the fight wore on, but his attack was often suffocated by Barboza, who had success using his height and reach advantage.
It was a tense affair throughout, and Barboza was visibly frustrated when Catterall landed a punch after the referee ordered them to stop boxing following a low shot. It was a show of how tight the margins were, and both fighters knew that every moment in the contest counted.
Both fighters landed shots but did not hurt each other. Barboza kept coming, but Catterall, an impressive counterpuncher, more often than not had a reply.
The Manchester crowd thought Catterall had a knockdown in the closing stages of Round 10, but Barboza was judged to have tripped.
Knowing how tight the contest was, both men came out with intent in the final round and tried to force the action, but neither seemed to outdo the other.
Barboza jumped on the ropes as the final bell went, while Catterall raised his arms, but it was the American who walked away with victory.
Despite being disappointed, Catterall had no qualms with the result.
“Tricky fight, close fight, there’s no arguments. Congratulations, Barboza. I thought I just done enough in there tonight, but that wasn’t good enough,” Catterall said.