Former world champion Rances Barthelemy has told World Boxing News the judging controvesey from his last fight is now behind him.
Barthelemy defeated Omar Juarez at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in May 2022 in a majority decision that caused uproar. WBN was in the building that night and Juarez was consoled by many in the Chelsea Ballroom about the fact he should have gotten the verdict.
However, 38-year-old Barthelemy is unfazed. And after being on the wrong side of the fence himself, he isn’t dwelling on other people’s gripes.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,” Barthelemy told World Boxing News exclusively. “Although I agree that I underperformed against Omar, I still wholeheartedly believe I won that fight.
“My strength and conditioning was not where it should have and it showed, but I still outboxed him.”
Having had a long absence between fights, Barthelemy was asked whether he suffered any frustration when awaiting the call to fight. The call eventually came for Bathelemy to battle Jose Ramirez later this month.
“I’ve been training for the last year and had been waiting for the call from my manager that we have another big fight lined up. I’m happy that it’s now here, and I get to fight a former world champion on April 27 in hopes of getting another title shot at 140.
4. I’m fighting Ramirez in his hometown, too. I am really excited and hope this fight catapults me to a title shot at 140. The styles match up perfectly. He loves to come forward and throw in bunches, I love to box and counter.
“We will see how it plays out on fight night, but if he thinks this is going to be a walk in the park for him because of my age, he has another thing coming.”
Suffering just two defeats in a long and storied career, Barthelemy gets the opportunity to cause another upset. Ramirez, 31, is the pre-fight favorite, but Barthelemy won’t be short on preparation from his Las Vegas base.
Cubans have a habit of coming back strong despite age, as Erislandy Lara proved when he defended his WBA middleweight crown on the undercard of Sebastian Fundora vs Tim Tszyu.
Lara blasted out Michael Zerafa in two rounds and put himself back on the WBN Pound for Pound Top 50 list. Barthelemy, who has appeared on the P4P Top 50 himself, knows a win over Ramirez is a surefire way to land a title shot at the end of 2024.
If successful, Barthelemy aims to create history and won’t be looking to give Juarez another chance.
“I’m not scared to fight anyone,” he pointed out. “I have never shied away from rematches. At this late stage in my career, I’m hoping for another title shot so that I can accomplish my goal of becoming the first legitimate three-weight world champion from Cuba.”
Ramirez vs Barthelemy goes down on April 27 in Fresno, California, in a doubleheader with Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs Thomas Dulorme. The event will be broadcast on DAZN.
After signing with Golden Boy and following a split with Top Rank, Ramirez is dicing with danger, facing an upsetter like Barthelemy.
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