ARNOLD Barboza Jr sent out a plea to the WBO to give him a title shot after defeating Jose Ramirez via a unanimous decision in the Riyadh Season co-main event. It was a lacklustre affair for most of the 10 rounds. The judges had the unenviable job of splitting them and their final scores of 97-93, and 96-94 (twice) awarded it to the 32-year-old.

There were some tense opening rounds as they both looked to shake off a little coat of rust. WBO Intercontinental champion Barboza Jr was mostly retreating, doing a better job of finding a comfortable range as Ramirez stalked. 

There wasn’t much activity going into the fifth round, although Barboza Jr’s shots were sharper. Competing as a former unified super-lightweight champion, Ramirez looked sluggish and unable to unload.

The WBO title eliminator had mostly been a tepid affair as the seventh came and went. Barboza Jr’s transitions from defence to attack were faster as he stepped in and let a burst go. “He has no legs, son,” Barboza’s corner told him before the ninth round started. Turns out he had done enough to prevail.

Arnold Barboza Jr. improved to 31-0 (11 KOs) and gave an emotional interview after beating Jose Ramirez, who is now 29-2 (18 KOs).

“This was my championship fight,” said Barboza Jr. “All the time we spent together under the same promoter, it never happened. This is the fight we’ve been wanting.”

Barboza Jr went on to call on the WBO to give him an overdue title shot. After refusing to pay their sanctioning fees, they might make him wait a little longer yet.