by Bill Mitchell: Friday night fights broadcast their season debut last night live on ESPN from The Magic City Casino in Miami, Fl. The main event featured two undefeated junior lightweight contenders Rances Barthelemy (17-0, 11 KOs) and Arash Usmanee (20-0,10 KOs). And here’s where the controversy ensues.
Barthelemy , a tall, technically correct left-hander who fights conventional was expected to be Cuba’s next professional star after winning three impressive victories last year. He was the expected favorite. However undefeated Afghanistan-born Canadian resident Arash Usmanee, a tough stalker with power and brawling skills had a different mindset. In a pre-fight interview he said “I am an aggressor with good technique, and this coming Friday you’ll see a great fight.”
Early in the fight Barthelemy used a stiff jab backed up by hard rights to control Usmanee. But by round three hard punching to the body was slowing down Barthelemy. The Cuban fighter used all his skills to try and maintain his edge but to no avail. By round ten the fight was clearly in Usmanee’s favor and at times Barthelemy looked ready to go. Teddy Atlas and Joe Tesetorri both had Usmanee ahead as well as the fans from online voting. When the judges’ cards were read at the end of the fight Barthelemy was declared the winner. The crowd and Teddy Atlas protested. Atlas called it corrupt or incompetent judging and called for a federal commission to investigate corruption in boxing. Writers and pundits from around the web have called it an absolute robbery. Even Barthelemy himself fell to his knees after the scores were read.
The undercard pitted unbeaten Cuban Hairon Sacorrais (5-0-1, 4KOs) against Joshua Bowles (5-2, 1KO) in a 4 round fight. Sacorrais with an amateur pedigree from the Cuban National team scored a scintillating right hand knockout in the third round over Bowles moving his record to 6-0-1 (5 KOs). Bowles was caught in the third round as he was trying to throw his own right hand.
The second fight, a co-main event featured Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Gonzalez (15-0-1 13 KOs) against Derek Ennis (23-3-1, 7 Kos) in a junior middleweight bout. Gonzalez was trying to position himself for a title match after fighting to a draw with Sergiy Dzinziruk in a fight last September. Derek Ennis, who came into last night’s fight overweight, provided a tough test for the Puerto Rican fighter. Gonzales, with his heavy hands, struggled to a lackluster win over Ennis with judges scoring the fight 98-92, 97-93, and 95-95.
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