Junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Junior waited a long time to make his pro main event debut but did not disappoint when given the chance after beating Danielito Zorrilla in California.
Barboza (27-0, 10 KOs), from South El Monte, California, grinded down Danielito Zorrilla to win a 10-round unanimous decision in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,836 Friday evening at Pechanga Resort Casino. Ranked No. 8 by the WBO at 140 pounds, he prevailed by scores of 98-92 and 97-93.
The 30-year-old returned from an 11-month layoff in vintage form, wearing down Zorrilla with a consistent body attack and well-placed right hands. Zorrilla (16-1, 12 KOs), down big on the cards, summoned one final charge in the 10th round.
He landed a crisp right hand that wobbled Barboza, creating one very anxious moment for the Southern California standout. Barboza composed himself and held on for win number 27.
Barboza said: “I was a little rusty. It’s been a while. I’m not going to be inactive like that any more, man. I’m going to be fighting constantly.
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“I was more off balance (in the 10th round). I was right there. Once you saw me off balance, I was right back to my thing. Shout out to my conditioning. My conditioning was on point.
“My manager knows, if we can’t get a title shot, you know who it is. We want Teofimo. It’s either a title shot or him.”
Lightweight sensation Raymond “Danger” Muratalla shut out the game Jair Valtierra over eight rounds by identical scores of 80-71, while heavyweight U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Junior wasted little time, stopping Roberto Zavala Jr. at 58 seconds of the opening round.