Rances Barthelemy vs Mickey Bey Preview June 3rd
Unbeaten Rances Barthelemy of Cuba will be defending his IBF World Lightweight Championship this Friday, June 3rd against American veteran Mickey Bey at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida The bout is a part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series and can be seen live in North America on Spike TV. Barthelemy won the vacant title via a unanimous decision over Russia’s Denis Shafikov last December. Bey’s last fight was a 10-round unanimous decision over Naim Nelson in December. Bey is the former IBF champ as he won the crown by split decision over Miguel Vazquez back in September of2014, but had the title stripped from him after he failed to meet Shafikov, who was the mandatory challenger.
Barthelemy vs Bey Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Mickey Bey +170
- Rances Barthelemy -222
My Pick
The 29-year-old Barthelemy is a former IBF Super Featherweight Champion and will climb through the ring ropes with a perfect record of 24-0 along with 13 Kos. He now fights out of Miami, Florida. The 32-year-old Bey of Cleveland, Ohio has an impressive mark of 22-1-1 with 10 Kos to his name. Barthelemy stands 5-foot-11-inches tall while Bey is just 5-foot-9. His reach advantage is also quite noticeable as Barthelemy’s wingspan is 73 inches and Bey has a 69-inch reach. The Cuban won the Super Featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Algenis Mendez in July of 2014 and then defended it with a wide unanimous decision over Fernando David Saucedo before moving up in weight.
Since campaigning in the lightweight division he’s beaten Angino Perez by a second-round TKO in March and then outpointed Antonio DeMarco over 10 rounds before meeting Shafikov. It would appear that Barthelemy will try to establish his jab right from the start and that will make it difficult for Bey to get close to him. However, if Bey can get in range by evading the jab, then he’ll need to punish Barthelemy and try to wear him down as much as possible. When it comes to power, neither of them really have big one-punch knockout power as Barthelemy’s current knockout ratio is 53 per cent while Bey’s is 40 per cent. Bey has also recently suffered some hand problems which could affect his power.
As far as experience goes. Barthelemy has fought 123 rounds since turning pro in 2009 while Bey has gone 138 rounds since turning pro in 2005. They also both enjoyed fine amateur careers. Bey’s one and only loss came at the hands of John Molina in 2013 when he was stopped in the 10th and final round in a bout he was ahead on points in. He also fought to an eight-round majority draw with Jose Hernandez in 2011.
Prediction……
Both Bey and Barthelemy are highly-skilled boxers, but the Cuban has fought stiffer opposition up to now and that could be the telling point. He also has the advantage in age, height, reach and power and will more or less have the hometown fans behind him. Look for Barthelemy to try and outbox Bey from a distance, but Bey should also have his moments. Any outcome here shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since this is an extremely close matchup. Barthelemy will likely lose sometime and it could be by decision this Saturday if Bey is as hungry and motivated to reclaim the belt as he says he is.
Very close to call, a true toss-up bout.
Play: Bey +170 @ 5dimes.eu
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Mickey Bey betting • Rances Barthelemy betting