Thursday, July 10, 2014, Rances Barthelemy (19-0, 12 KOs) gets a second crack at winning the IBF Super Featherweight title from Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KOs).
Many fans may remember their first bout on January 3, which kicked off ESPN’s 2014 Friday Night Fights with a bang. Barthelemy knocked Mendez around with no problem and scored what he thought was a second-round KO.
Instead, the KO decision was reversed to a No Decision after video replay confirmed that Mendez was hit after the bell.
Will it be a repeat for Barthelemy or a shot at redemption for the champion, Mendez?
Read on for Round By Round Boxing’s staff predictions for Argenis Mendez vs. Rances Barthelemy and let us know who you think will win.
Catch the fight live on Fox Sports 1 starting at 10:00 pm, EST.
Argenis Mendez
vs.
Rance Barthelemy
Lou Catalano, Staff Writer
Rances Barthelemy creamed Argenis Mednez in January, about 47 seconds after the bell rang to end the round. It was ruled a NC, but I don’t think a rematch is going to help Mendez’s cause much.
It would be different if the bell rang and Mendez had started walking merrily to his corner before being belted. But the fact is that he was still engaged and trying to block punches before he was nailed with a left.
Before that, Barthelemy had dominated every second of the fight. I think the rematch will be a continuation of the first fight, only this time Barthelemy gets the clean victory.
Prediction: Barthelemy
Donte Brown, Owner of Donte’s Boxing Gym, Contributing Writer
In their last fight, Argenis Mendez was hurt twice by Rances Barthelemy–once in the first round and again in the second before the stoppage. Mendez is a very talented boxer and going into the first fight, I had predicted he would win.
Afterwards, seeing Mendez going up against someone who could take his power, and give it back twice as hard, I can give him a chance, but he won’t be my prediction to win.
Prediction: Barthelemy
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
The first fight between Argenis Mendez and Rance Barthelemy was a quick and painful beat down. Barthelemy snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with an after-the-bell barrage of punches which led his victory to be overturned into a no contest.
Alas, each man has a chance to write a wrong.
I think Barthelemy will walk through whatever Mendez has to offer and score an early-rounds knockout–again. If the punches are flying like they were in January, make sure you set your DVR’s!
Prediction: Barthelemy
