The judges give Arnold Barboza a controversial victory over Sean McComb

By: Sean Crose

29-0 welterweight Arnold Barboza takes on 18-1 Sean McComb in the co-main event of the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia fight on Saturday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Barboza-McComb fight is scheduled to last 10 rounds. Southpaw McComb drove the action from the start. Barboza, on the other hand, remains patient. In the second, it was clear that Barboza was facing an awkward, high-volume puncher. Furthermore, Barboza had clearly decided that the winning strategy would be to knock out his man. However, the lanky McComb continued to miss Barboza’s timing in the third round.

Barboza decided to increase the pace in the fourth round. He was able to land, but the taller McComb still gave him trouble. The pace slowed in the fifth round, but McComb still kept Barboza out of rhythm. McComb continued to perform well in the sixth inning, throwing a lot and using a slippery defense. By the seventh round, it appeared Barboza had no answer for his tall and disappointing opponent. Whenever he landed well, McComb would fire right back. If Barboza had hit harder, things might have been different. However, when Barboza landed it, it was clear he was still in the fight.

That didn’t stop fans from expressing their disappointment in round eight, as Barboza simply didn’t seem to have the tools to defeat his opponent. McComb doesn’t land with power, but he lands often. Even in the ninth round, Barboza seemed unable to make anything happen. McComb’s style appears to have a mental and physical advantage over the betting favorite. The tenth and final round could have really gone to Barboza, who had a solid three minutes to himself.

After the final bell rang, the judges awarded Barboza a split decision victory.