Rances Barthelemy plans on moving up to 140 after Mickey Bey fight

By Brendan Taylor - 06/03/2016 - Comments

Rances Barthelemy (1)

By Brendan Taylor: IBF World lightweight champion Rances Barthelemy (24-0, 13 KO’s) recently stated that he has plans of moving up to the 140-pound division following his fight with Mickey Bey later on tonight in thier fight at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida. The Barthelemy vs. Bey fight will be televised tonight on Premier Boxing Champions on Spike TV.

Should Barthelemy be successful that would set up a move to a division where the likes of Terence Crawford, Viktor Postol, Amir Imam & Ruslan Provodnikov all campaign at. The junior welterweight division would give Rances the kind of opponents that could takes his career to new heights.

Barthelemy is rangy, awkward and can switch styles like Terence Crawford, but coming from the vantage point of being 5’11 which is the same height as Viktor Postol. The combination of height, reach and boxing ability is a serious task for anyone to take on. With a move to that division we might see some of the power he’s lost comeback due to not having to cut so much to make lightweight. Barthelemy isn’t known for power, but he’s always had enough to keep opponents honest.

He’s not looking past Mickey Bey, but if he’s able to win a world title at 140-pounds then that would make Rances the first Cuban boxer to ever win a title in 3 weight classes. With Al Haymon and Bob Arum rumored to start putting some fights together it’s a lot more realistic for Rances as an Al Haymon promoted fighter to land fights against guys from Top Rank.

The lions share of the division is dominated by guys promoted by Bob Arum, so that political hurdle appearing to be cleared is massive for the Cuban world champion boxer. The possibilities are endless and at 29-years old the stars seem to be aligning for Rances Barthelemy.