Arnold Barboza Jr. beat Jack Catterall with a tense split decision in Manchester on Saturday in their WBO junior welterweight title eliminator.
Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) snatched victory after two judges scored the fight 115-113 in his favour, while the third scored it 115-113 to Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs).
The result makes Barboza the mandatory challenger to WBO champion Teofimo Lopez.
The early rounds unfolded as Catterall often prefers, figuring out his opponent and inviting them to advance.
By Round 4, after Barboza had success with the right hand in the third, Catterall started to build combinations, but the American still looked to come forward and impose himself.
As he did against Regis Prograis in October, Catterall advanced more as the fight wore on, but was often suffocated by Barboza Jr. who had success of his own, using his height and reach advantage well.
It was a tense affair throughout and Barboza was visibly frustrated when Catterall landed a punch after the referee ordered them to stop boxing following a low shot. It was a show of how tight the margins were and both men knew it that every moment in the contest counted.
Both fighters were landing shots but not hurting their opponent. Barboza kept coming but Catterall, an impressive counter-puncher, more often than not had a reply.
The Manchester crowd thought Catterall had a knockdown in the closing stages of Round 10, but Barboza was judged to have tripped.
Knowing how tight the contest was, both men came out with intent in the final round and tried to force the action, but neither seemed to outdo the other.
Barboza jumped on the ropes as the final bell went while Catterall raised his arms, but it was the American who walked away with victory.