Arnold Barboza Jr vs Oscar Duarte set for January 23 at Honda Center in Anaheim

Arnold Barboza Jr and Oscar Duarte will meet in a main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday, January 23. An official told BoxingScene on Wednesday, November 11, that the Golden Boy Promotions stablemates have agreed to the fight. The date also came out of the WBC convention in Acapulco, Mexico.

BoxingScene described both men as top-five WBO welterweight contenders. Barboza is No. 3 in the WBO ratings and Duarte is No. 4. The WBO titlist, Devin Haney, defends his belt against IBF belt holder Liam Paro in a unification on December 19 in San Francisco.

WBC Silver belt and a path to Samuel Molina

ESPN reporter Salvador Rodriguez, posting from the WBC convention, said Barboza vs Duarte will be for the WBC Silver belt at welterweight. He added that the winner will then face Samuel Molina. MiddleEasy reported that the WBC's written convention summary lists the pairing under its welterweight decisions.

The same WBC update said welterweight champion Ryan Garcia is in his voluntary defence period. Souleymane Cissokho and Alberto Puello have agreed to fight for the interim WBC title.

The weight class is not fully settled in every report. Boxing News 24 called the fight a junior welterweight bout. Fight-specific details have not been formally released.

Barboza: back in Anaheim

Barboza, 34, is 33-1 (11 KOs). The Southern Californian challenged Teofimo Lopez for the WBO 140-pound title in Times Square, New York, in 2025 and lost a unanimous decision. Before that, he beat Jack Catterall by split decision in Manchester for the WBO interim super lightweight title.

In March he returned at Honda Center and beat Kenneth Sims Jr by unanimous decision in a welterweight main event. Golden Boy's biography lists that win as his WBO Global title victory, according to MiddleEasy.

Duarte: close calls and a cancelled title shot

Duarte, 30, from Mexico, is 31-2-1 (23 KOs). He was set to challenge Richardson Hitchins for the IBF 140-pound title, but Hitchins pulled out over an illness linked to his weight cut, BoxingScene said.

Duarte beat Sims by majority decision in Chicago in August 2025, in a WBA super lightweight eliminator. In May he won a split decision over Angel Fierro in Las Vegas on the David Benavidez vs Gilberto Ramirez undercard. Fierro came in 3.4 pounds over the 140-pound limit, so only Duarte could win the WBC Silver super lightweight belt that night.

That gives the fight a common opponent. Both men beat Sims, Duarte at 140 and Barboza at 147.

Undercard

Boxing News 24, citing reporter Darshan Desai, said Golden Boy announced the date and location during the WBC convention. It reported that WBC No. 1 junior middleweight contender Brandon Adams is expected on the card in either an interim title fight or a final eliminator, along with fellow contender Charles Conwell. No undercard opponents have been announced.