Rances Barthelemy beat Antonio DeMarco by unanimous decision on Sunday.
Barthelemy, a Cuban defector who lives in Las Vegas, won all 10 rounds on the judges’ scorecards, although he was deducted one point by referee Kenny Bayless for a low blow in the ninth.
Barthelemy (23-0) was fighting at the super lightweight limit for the second time after previously winning the IBF super featherweight title.
Photo: AP
Switching from a southpaw stance to a conventional right-hand stance throughout the bout, Barthelemy dropped DeMarco with a big left hand in the fourth.
“My left helped me a lot,” Barthelemy said through a translator. “I stayed true to the Cuban boxing school, and when I saw an opening I threw the other hand to keep him guessing.”
DeMarco (31-5-1), who lost to Jessie Vargas in November last year for the WBA super lightweight championship, absorbed a number of shots from Barthelemy and was unable to generate any offense of his own.
“I fought my fight and my style,” DeMarco said. “One has to learn how to handle losing, and he was just the better fighter.”
Earlier on the card, bloodied welterweight Sammy Vasquez (19-0) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision against Wale Omotoso.
Vasquez, who did two tours of Iraq with the US National Guard, won points early in the 10-round fight with effective body shots and his jab before Omotoso (25-2) rallied in the middle rounds.
“My objective was just to box him, move him around and not let him hit me because I know he has the power,” said Vasquez, who suffered two head cuts and a welt under his right eye. “He does hit kind of hard, but it is not anything I have not seen before.”
All three judges had the fight 98-92 in Vasquez’s favor.
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