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Rances Barthelemy announced his true arrival in the 140-pound division this afternoon in Las Vegas, dominating former lightweight titleholder Antonio DeMarco over 10 rounds with a shutout decision win at the MGM Grand. Barthelemy dominated the fight, dropped DeMarco, and only lost a perfect score because of a round nine point deduction.
Scores for the fight were 99-89 across the board, which is also what Bad Left Hook had. Barthelemy put DeMarco down in the fourth round, and looked to bait a flat DeMarco (31-5-1, 23 KO) into running into something big for the remainder of the fight. DeMarco didn't do that, but that's about the best thing one can say about his performance, too. He was outclassed by Barthelemy (23-0, 13 KO), who appears to really be coming into his own in recent fights.
With the junior welterweight division really opening up thanks to some departures that have come recently or are coming soon, Barthelemy, 28, could find himself in the mix at the top of the division sooner than later.
In the welterweight co-feature, Sammy Vasquez Jr improved to 19-0 (13 KO) with a ten-round decision win over Wale Omotoso, on scores of 98-92 across the board, the same as what we had on our card. This was a really entertaining fight worth a watch if you missed today's broadcast, with Vasquez showcasing a lot of offensive skills, and Omotoso doing a little damage of his own along the way, and not just from the head clashes that bloodied Vasquez's face over the course of the fight. This one was more competitive and compelling than the scores might lead you to believe.