Arnold Barboza Jr. W10 Sean McComb... In the wake of Arnold Barboza Jr.'s very unpopular split decision over Sean McComb, Barboza acknowledged the cricitism on social media, saying: "I want to address the fans. Not my best performance but we came out victorious. Going back to the drawing board to continue to work on the craft. Hope you guys enjoyed. Thank you all for the continued support... Having a rough night doesn't define your worth as a fighter. Everyone has off days, but consistent hard work speaks volumes about my dedication and abilities. It's important to recognize that one bad night doesn't overshadow my overall performance and value as a fighter. [My record is still] 30-0... For all the Twitter boxing 'experts', a close fight does not equal a robbery. Next fight I’m make you eat your words."
Fighting in the chief support bout on the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia pay-per-view show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Barboaza, an undefeated junior welterweight from Los Angeles, took on Northern Ireland’s McComb. This bout followed the same pattern for all ten rounds, with Barboza pressuring and McComb countering. Barboza did his best to work his way inside to land hooks to the body. However, McComb, a tall, lanky southpaw reminiscent of former middleweight title holder Andy Lee, appeared to outbox his shorter adversary at nearly every turn. In his second foray inside a U.S. boxing ring, McComb used deft footwork combined with his height and reach advantages to keep Barboza at bay behind a stiff jab, straight lefts and effective counter hooks.
While judge Benoit Roussel had McComb winning 98-92, judges Don Trella and Tom Schreck heavily favored Barboza by tallies of 97-93 and 96-94, respectively. CompuBox stats had McComb outlanding Barboza by a slim margin of 107 to 99. Now 30-0 (11 KOs), Barboza, who is rated #1 by the WBO, will likely be in line for a world title shot in short order. Following a solid effort that seemingly should have been enough to earn him the win, McComb’s resume now stands at 18-2 (5 KOs).
