"He's
ready" says Richard Dobal, President of Bad Dog Productions and
co-promoter of IBF #6 super featherweight Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy
(17-0, 11 KOs).
Miami-based
Dobal has been with the 26-year-old Cuban Barthelemy from the beginning
of his career and is hoping to watch him join the elite ranks of the
130-lb division when he faces #14-rated contender Arash Usmanee (20-0,
10 KOs) on Friday, January 4, 2013 in a 12-round elimination bout for
the IBF's #2 position.
Barthelemy
and Usmanee will meet in the main event that night, as Warriors Boxing
and Bad Dog Productions in association with the Magic City Casino,
present the year's debut broadcast of ESPN's Friday Night Fights (10 PM
Eastern on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, online through WatchESPN.com, and on
smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app.) live from Stage 305 in
the Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida.
In
the co-featured televised bout, Puerto Rican slugger Jonathan
"Mantequilla" Gonzalez (15-0-1, 13 KOs) will take on Philadelphia's
Derek "Pooh" Ennis (23-3-1, 13 KOs).
"My
partner Leon (Margules of Warriors Boxing), his manager Henry Foster
and I feel this kid is world championship material. It's time to take on
a guy like this. He's ready," continued Dobal. "I say that because he's
had an opportunity to be in several training camps and all the feedback
we get is that he's ready for bigger and better things. He was just in
camp with Mercito Gesta and before that with Sharif Bogere and Marco Maidana. He's sparred several top guys and handled himself very well."
Dobal
says his fighter is in the perfect place at the perfect time, facing
Afghani-Canadian Usmanee for a top spot in the rankings.
"Whenever we've put
an opponent in front of him where he had to step up, such as Hylon
Williams, Rances proved he was ready. I think he's one of those fighters
that the better the opponent, the more inspired he gets in training and
in his performance. What I like about Usmanee is that we know him. They
had an opportunity to spar a couple years ago and Arash is a guy who
comes to fight. Rances won't have to find him and those are the type of
opponents that showcase Rances at his best. Rances likes to fight. He
likes to get down and slug it out. These are the types of opponents that
Rances stylistically will do well against. We're all conscious that
Arash is a very tough fighter and this is probably the toughest fight
that Rances has ever had. But these are the types of guys you have to
fight to become a champion."
Barthelemy
recently moved his base of operations back to Florida after spending
time in Vegas working with well-respected trainer Miguel Diaz.
"He
is with new trainers now, John David Jackson and with Chico Rivas, and
they put a little more emphasis on strength and conditioning. We're very
grateful to Miguel in Vegas who worked with him all this time, but
Rances is going to be a father soon and the distance from his fiancé
with him living in Vegas wasn't working, so he made the decision to come
back to Miami to support to his new family. Rances is a very good kid
and family comes first."
###
The undercard, which will be announced shortly, will feature several young local and international rising stars.
Tickets are on sale now on the Magic City Casino website www.magiccitycasino.com as well as in person at the Magic City Players Club. They are priced at $100, $75, $50 and $35.
Doors open at 7:30 pm and the first bell is at 8:00.
About Magic City Casino
Magic
City Casino features 800 Las Vegas-style slot machines, 18-table Poker
Room, outdoor concert amphitheater, multi-purpose indoor venue, seasonal
live greyhound racing and multiple food and beverage outlets, among
other state-of-the-art amenities. The casino is open every day (Sunday
through Thursday: 10am to 4am; Friday and Saturday: 10am to 5am). For
more information, visit www.magiccitycasino.com"
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