HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Lightweight Rances Barthelemy (25-0, 13 KOs) looks poised to step up in weight after his split decision victory over Mickey Bey (22-2-10, 10KOs). Two ringside judges turned in correct, respectable scorecards, 117-110 and 116-111. Judge Hilton Whitaker III turned in a bogus 117-110 scorecard for Mickey Bey.
The cards were expected to be closer than the actual fight for two reasons, Bey is promoted by Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and with only a few seconds remaining in the 2nd round the two fighters got tangled up. Bey threw a punch that never came close to landing but Barthelemy hit the canvas in the process due to a head butt. A puzzled referee, Sam Burgos, started a count.
But after Burgos’ blunder Barthelemy controlled the majority of the remaining rounds with his reach and combinations. Bey’s effort faded down the stretch, and he showed no resolve, leaving us to wonder what the future holds for him. As for Rances Barthelemy, he plans on moving up to junior welterweight and hopes to challenge the likes of Viktor Postol, Ruslan Provodnikov and Terence Crawford.
In a swing six-round bout, middleweight prospect Caleb Plant (13-0, 10 KO) stopped Carlos Galvan (12-5-1, 11 KO) with a wicked left uppercut to the body. Galvan rolled around the canvas in pain before being counted out at 1:24 of the 4th round.
In the co-feature, bantamweights Emmanuel Rodriguez (15-0, 10 KOs) and Alberto Guevara (24-3, 9 KOs) did not wage your typical Puerto Rican-Mexican battle. But Guevara served as a formidable opponent for prospect Rodriguez. Rodriguez landed his right hand and shook Guevara with a left hook early in the fight. Guevara was able to land a few combinations during the course of the fight, but his power deficiency prohibited him from doing any actual damage. Rodriguez was effective with his jab throughout the fight and added in solid bodywork. All three judges scored a unanimous decision for Rodriguez, 100-90 and 99-91 twice. At 23 years of age, Rodriguez, with his arsenal of punches is worth keeping an eye on.
