Friday’s truly interesting Times Square card should provide some preliminary answers. But to me, the issue of greatest consequence has to do with the guy no one’s talking about: Arnold Barboza Jr.
Unlike his opponent, Lopez — who, when he’s right, remains as electric a talent as there is in all of boxing — Barboza doesn’t get much buzz. He’s not a social media star, never even had a public meltdown. Actually, he’s something of a novelty here: just a fighter, albeit a pretty good one — 33 years old, and at 32-0, ridiculously overdue for a world title shot. The rules have changed since Barboza debuted back in 2013. Apparently, being just a really good fighter is no longer good enough.
Still, the question going forward — especially germane for the principals of this nascent TKO boxing league, UFC boss Dana White, WWE president Nick Khan (full disclosure: my former agent) and the guy with the bankroll, the Saudi financier Turki Alalshikh — is: Can that change? Being a fighter is a plenty tough gig — you risk your life, after all — without having to be some kind of online provocateur. Is there a construct that simply allows good fighters to be good fighters, and from their midst, as will inevitably happen, comes the occasional great one?
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