A Bob Arum promoted card on behalf of Top Rank takes place at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in California this Friday night, and in the main event, it’s a battle of unbeatens, as Arnold Barboza Jr takes on Danielito Zorrilla over a scheduled ten rounds at super lightweight.
Barboza Jr vs Zorrilla can be seen on Sky Sports in the UK, and ESPN+ in the USA.
Barboza Jr (26-0, 10 KOs) has steadily built his undefeated record with a mixture of faded contenders and gate keepers, with a third round knockout of Mike Alvarado in 2019 an example.
The 30-year-old, who is ranked in the top ten in the WBO behind unified world champion Josh Taylor, has been the ten round distance in each of his last three contests, beginning with a shutout win over Tony Luis in August 2020.
The Californian had to get off the floor to outscore Alex Saucedo two months later to win the vacant WBO International belt, and he was last out in August last year, winning nearly every round in a points success over Antonio Moran.
Zorrilla (16-0, 12 KOs) represents a bit of an unknown quantity for Barboza Jr, and the Puerto Rican is heavy-handed.
The 28-year-old has served as WBO NABO champion, and his last fight saw him defend in spectacular fashion, knocking out former world title challenger Pablo Cesar Cano in two rounds.
Prediction: Barboza Jr does look a talent, and he is being geared towards the elite level in the ten stone division. Zorrilla will be a danger man for the first few rounds, but Barboza Jr can pound out a clear points win.
Muratalla meets Valtierra
It’s a prospect-heavy card, and lightweight Raymond Muratalla (14-0, 12 KOs) has an eight round assignment against Mexico’s Jair Valtierra (16-1, 8 KOs).
Muratalla has only been the distance twice in the early part of his career, and is a knockout artist.
Prediction: Valtierra was knocked out in five rounds in his sole career defeat last year, and Muratalla should add to that list here somewhere around the halfway mark.
Remaining Undercard
Heavyweight hope Stephan Shaw (16-0, 12 KOs) is also a big puncher, and ‘Big Shot’ can add to his portfolio of early wins with a stoppage win in his scheduled eight rounder with Bernardo Marquez (14-4-1, 10 KOs), a Californian on a six-fight winning streak.
In six round affairs, Jorge Marron Jr (20-3-1, 7 KOs) should take care of Adrian Yung (28-7-2, 22 KOs) in their super lightweight attraction on the cards, while at super bantamweight, Floyd Diaz (5-0, 1 KO) can do the same against Pedro Salome (3-0-1, 1 KO).
You could feel that body shot through the screen 🤭@Da_RealCashFlow | #BarbozaZorrilla | ESPN & ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/A9VnPl1n8a
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 12, 2022
At heavyweight, 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Richard Torrez Jr (1-0, 1 KO) can score another early win against Roberto Zavala Jr (2-1-1, 2 KOs).
The sole four rounder comes at featherweight, where Austin Brooks (6-0, 2 KOs) should be able to outscore Victor Saravia (1-2, 1 KO).
