Frank Martin vs. Rances Barthelemy on October 25 on Prime Video PPV

Frank Martin will be fighting Rances Barthelemy on October 25 on the undercard of Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Martin revealed on Instagram that he’ll be fighting the former two-division world champion Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs).

Fans Criticize Martin’s Return

Fans on social media are critical of the lightweight Martin choosing to fight the 39-year-old Barthelemy. It’s too big a step down in competition for Martin from the opposition he’s been facing.

Fundora-Thurman Undercard

• O’Shaquie Foster vs. Stephen Fulton Jr.
• Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Shane Mosley Jr.
• Frank Martin vs. Rances Barthelemy
• Isaac Lucero vs. Roberto Valenzuela Jr.

Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) will be coming off a 16-month layoff since his eighth-round knockout loss to Gervonta Davis on June 15, 2024. He got a big ‘The Ghost’ Martin got a nice $1.5 million payday for that fight. So, it’s not a shock that he’s chosen to sit inactive with his nest egg.

Martin should have returned to the ring a lot sooner and fought a better opponent. It wasn’t that much of a devastating loss for Frank to sit on the shelf for almost a year and a half.

The Decline of Barthelemy

The Cuban Barthelemy has lost two out of his last three fights and hasn’t been particularly active in the past three years, since 2022, having fought just three times. His career has been on the slide since his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Kiryl Relikh on March 10, 2018.

If this were a prime version of Barthelemy, Martin would have a real problem on his hands. That’s not the case. Rances is nearing 40, and it’s been eight years since he beat a solid fighter, Relikh, in their first fight in 2017.

What makes the selection of Barthelemy look worse for Martin is that the Fundora vs. Thurman card is on Prime Video PPV.  Although the price hasn’t been revealed yet, it’s expected to be $59.99 in the U.S. and £24.99 in the U.K. For that kind of money, Martin should be fighting a better fighter than Barthelemy.

The combination of Martin sitting inactive for 16 months and then choosing Barthelemy as his opponent makes him look bad. It gives fans the impression that he’s not serious about his career and is just focused on taking paydays.