BARTHELEMY DOMINATES SAUCEDO IN TITLE DEFENSE, MARTIROSYAN DEFEATS NELSON AND DAWSON SHOCKED BY KARPENCY SATURDAY ON SHOWTIME®

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MASHANTUCKET, CONN. (Oct. 5, 2014) – Rances Barthelemy defended his IBF Junior Lightweight World Championship against Fernando David Saucedo with a dominating unanimous decision, scored 120-108 by all three judges, Saturday on SHOWTIME from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. 

Barthelemy (21-0, 12 KOs) controlled the bout from the opening bell and was the more active and accurate fighter, throwing 819 punches to Saucedo’s 382.  Saucedo (52-6-3, 8, KOs) tried to counter, but he wasn’t quick enough to land anything meaningful against the elusive Cuban. Barthelemy, who landed 50 percent of his power shots, employed a diverse attack of uppercuts, hooks and jabs and fought with his hands down and by his side for most of the fight. 

“It was a good fight,” Barthelemy said. “Saucedo is a veteran guy. In one moment, I thought I was going to knock him out, but he knows how to make the fight last. 

“I want Mikey Garcia. They say he’s the best. I say I’m the best. Let’s settle it.”

Saucedo didn’t win a single round and was outclassed in his United States debut. 

“I did everything I could,” Saucedo said. “We gave it our all but he is just a stronger and bigger guy. He’s a very good fighter, but he’s too big for this weight division.”

Vanes Martirosyan won a hard-fought unanimous decision over previously once-beaten Willie Nelson in a matchup of two top 10 ranked junior middleweights, scored 97-93 twice, 96-94. 

Martirosyan promised to win this fight for his promoter, the recently deceased Dan Goossen, and he delivered.  The contender was able to get inside the lengthy Nelson, where he did the majority of his damage with powerful right hooks. 

The pace picked up in the second half of the fight, with Martirosyan cleanly landing right shots and backing up Nelson. In the latter rounds, Martirosyan consistently threw wide shots around Nelson’s guard and opened up a cut under his eye in the eighth. Martirosyan’s power shots were the difference, with the Armenian landing 42 percent compared to Nelson’s 32 percent.

“We had to turn this into a fight,” Martirosyan said. “He is tall, he has long arms and it’s hard to fight a guy like that.  Around the seventh or the eighth I thought about [Diego] Corrales vs. [Jose Luis] Castillo and going to war. I knew we needed to dig deep to win this fight and that’s what we did.”

“It’s been a hard week for us. Around round eight, I thought about Dan and he made me fight hard. This was for Dan. I know he was watching me and this is for him. We love him and we miss him.”

Martirosyan’s trainer and Dan’s brother, Joe, agreed: “He asked us to win this fight and we honored that request as best as we could.”

Nelson, who was more accurate that Martirosyan with his jabs, disagreed with the judges’ scorecards. 

“I thought I won, but the judges saw otherwise,” Nelson said. “I can’t complain. Vanes has some nice pop and hand speed. He’s nothing special, but I felt he fought me differently than he has past opponents. I just need to keep fighting and keep moving forward and we’ll see what happens. 

“It was a good, tough fight.  What else would you expect from two guys in the top 10 in the division?  Of course I’d like another shot at him.”

In the opening bout of the telecast, underdog Tommy Karpency upset former light heavyweight world champion with a split decision victory, scored 96-94 Dawson, 96-94 Karpency, 96-94 Karpency.

Karpency (24-4-1, 14 KOs), who took the fight on short notice, was supposed to be a tune-up for Dawson (32-4, 18 KOs) as he climbed back from two tough consecutive losses to Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson.  But Karpency fought with confidence and controlled the pace of the fight, which was contested almost entirely in the center of the ring. 

“I just came here to win, I had nothing to lose,” Karpency said. “I know I did enough to win and thankfully the judges got it right. I know it was close but I won hands down. I came here on short notice and I had to pace myself and make my punches count. I buzzed him a few times but couldn’t get him down. He was running. He thought he had the fight won.

“I believe that I belong in the top 10 in the light heavyweight division. I want to fight the best. I just beat a two-time former champ and I’m ready to fight the best.” 

Dawson didn’t throw any meaningful punches with his left hand in the second half of the fight and told to SHOWTIME announcer Steve Farhood that he hurt his left shoulder in the third round. 

“I hurt my shoulder in the third round,” Dawson said. “I landed more jabs than he landed punches. That’s [expletive]. They must want me out of the game. That’s crazy. I fought with one arm since the third round. Come on, man”

RANCES BARTHELEMY vs. FERNANDO DAVID SAUCEDO WILLIE NELSON vs. VANES MARTIROSYAN CHAD DAWSON vs. TOMMY KARPENCY FINAL WEIGHTS, QUOTES & PHOTOS

SHOWTIME Boxing Special Edition This Saturday, Oct. 4,

LIVE On SHOWTIME^® At 9 p.m. ET/PT

From Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.

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MASHANTUCKET, CONN. (Oct. 3, 2014) – Undefeated Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy and Fernando  David “El Vasco” Saucedo both tipped the scale at the limit of 130 pounds during the official weigh-in for their world title showdown, tomorrow/Saturday, LIVE on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.

Barthelemy (20-0-0, 12 KOs), of Las Vegas by way of Cuba, will defend his IBF junior lightweight title against former world title challenger and IBF No. 3-ranked challenger Saucedo (52-5-3, 8, KOs), of Florencio Varela, Argentina, in the main event of a SHOWTIME Boxing Special Editiontripleheader from the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Conn.

Willie “The Great” Nelson (23-1-1, 13 KOs), of Cleveland, Ohio, and Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (34-1-1, 21 KOs), of Glendale, Calif. by way of Armenia, both weighed-in at 153 pounds for their 10-round collision of once-beaten junior middleweights.  Martirosyan will be stepping into the ring with a heavy heart just five days after the death of his promoter Dan Goossen, brother of his trainer, Joe Goossen. 

Former light heavyweight world champion “Bad" Chad Dawson (32-3, 18 KOs), of Las Vegas by way of New Haven, Conn., measured 173 pounds for his first fight in his home state in five years.  He’ll take onTommy Karpency (23-4-1, 14 KOs), of Adah, Penn., who also weighed-in at 173 pounds, in a 10-round light heavyweight fight in the opening bout of Saturday’s tripleheader.

RANCES BARTHELEMY:

“I’m excited.  This is a huge fight for me, fighting on national television, fighting on SHOWTIME.  I’m excited and anxious to get in there and give the crowd and the fans a great fight.

“You’re going to see a solid, smart fighter that knows how to keep his distance and knows how to control the pace.  And you’ll see a lot of my jab, my biggest weapon.

“I’m going to win any way possible.  We’re ready to go the whole 12 rounds.  We’re just going to take it round by round.

“He has over 60 fights so we have to respect him.  But we’re going to let him know we’re the bigger man.”

FERNANDO DAVID SAUCEDO:

“I came here to win the world title and that’s what I’m going to do.

“This is the perfect matchup for me and my chance to show that I deserve to be a world champion.

“It’s a dream come true to fight here in the United States.  It’s obvious that I can’t do what I did in my previous 60 fights.  I need to bring a little more to go home with the title.  I’m very well-prepared and I’m looking forward to getting in the ring.”

WILLIE NELSON:

“I believe the jab is the key to this fight.  The person who establishes the jab is the one that is going to come out on top.

“I just need to follow the game plan and pick him apart.

“I’m going to win a unanimous decision.

“If I win this fight I should get a shot at a world title.  But, you know, it’s boxing, so anything can happen.”

VANES MARTIROSYAN

“We have a good game plan put together with Joe [Goossen].  We’re ready to box or brawl if we need to.  We’ll just take it from there.  We’re ready for whatever he bring and we’re just going to be on top of him the whole fight.

“We’ve been heartbroken since we’ve heard the news [that Dan passed].  Especially because they kept it away from me the whole training camp.  It was a big surprise to us.  The second we heard it we all, my wife, my mother, we all started crying. 

“But, in a way, we’re happy that we get to fight Saturday night and dedicate this victory to Dan Goossen.

“It gives me more motivation to fight and make him proud because I know he’s going to be looking down on us.  On Saturday we get to thank him.

“I think this will make me stronger.  The last thing, boxing-wise, that Dan said to Joe was, “make sure Vanes wins.’  I’m taking that in the ring with me.  He’s going to be watching me from above so we’re going to put on a good performance for him.

“I’m going to win by knockout.  I have too much happiness and too much strength going into the ring that I will win by knockout.”

CHAD DAWSON:

“As a fighter, the scale is a part of the fight, too.  I beat the scale andtomorrow night we’ll go out and win the fight.

“I know that I have to go out tomorrow night and perform.  I have to let the world know that I’m the same fighter, that I’m still one of the best fighters in the world.  If anything, I think I’m wiser and that makes me a better fighter.

“I’m going to go out there and do what I do best, use my jab, use my hand speed.  People underestimate my jab, but I have one of the best jabs out there.  I just need to use my size and win the fight. 

“Hopefully within the next two fights I’ll get a world title shot.  We want to get another fight after this, hopefully in December, and then sometime early next year I’ll be fighting for another world title.

“I’ll probably put on about 10 pounds before the fight tomorrow.  No more than that.  We don’t want to go in the ring too blown up.  Tonight we’ll eat light, eat a light breakfast a light lunch and get in the ring.

“I want to get some rounds in.  Hopefully he has it in him and hopefully we can get in some rounds.  I’m not the type of fighter to look for a knockout, but if it comes, it comes.  We’re just looking for a great performance.

“You’ll see on Saturday night –I’m back to being ‘Bad’ Chad.”

TOMMY KARPENCY:

“His weight doesn’t impact me at all.  I came here to win the fight no matter which Chad Dawson showed up and we prepared for the best Chad Dawson. 

“I’m going to fight to win.  I have nothing to lose.  This is a great opportunity for me –it’s Chad Dawson’s backyard so all the pressure is on him.  I have to take advantage of this opportunity.

“I’m going to try to impose my style; I try to fight in spurts.  I’m just going to let my hands go and whatever happens, happens. 

“I’m going to win, that’s all.  It’s going to be a life changing victory and that’s how I’m approaching it.  I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  I just need to take advantage of this opportunity.

“This is a fight we went after.  We’re ready to go.  I don’t think this is the tune-up he’s expecting.  We’re ready for the best chad.”

JOE GOOSSEN:

“We trained very hard, even if it was under impossible circumstances.  Dan brought it up, he said, ‘just make sure Vanes wins Saturday night.’  That was Dan.  Always thinking about boxing and business up until the very end.  Dan was concerned about Vanes like he would be at any other time. 

“We didn’t miss a minute in the gym and that’s the way he would want it.  If anything it motivates me.  The gym is probably the only place where I can go to forget everything.”

Rances Barthelemy Finalizes Training Camp for Saucedo Showdown

IBF SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION

RANCES BARTHELEMY

FINALIZES TRAINING CAMP/SPARRING

(LAS VEGAS) September 27, 2014 - With one week to go until his first defense of his IBF Super Featherweight world title, Champion Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy (20-0, 12 KOs) wraps up his final day of training camp with an intense day of sparring.  Barthelemy will face challenger Fernando David Saucedo (52-2, 8 KOs) in a 12-round bout at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.  The fight will be televised live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT) as the main-event on Oct, 4, 2014.

"This is the best camp I've had since turning professional," said Barthelemy. "My weight is good and I'm going to be well prepared for anything Saucedo brings.  We did some things different in this camp as we added some old techniques from the Cuban School of boxing.  I'm ready to show the world I'm the best Super Featherweight in the world.  I want to thank Al Haymon and my entire team for all their support.  I'm ready to show the world I'm the best Super Featherweight in the world."

SHOWTIME BOXING SPECIAL EDITION QUADRUPLEHEADER SET FOR SATURDAY, OCT. 4 AT FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO LIVE ON SHOWTIME®

UNDEFEATED IBF CHAMPION RANCES BARTHELEMY DEFENDS HIS TITLE AGAINST ARGENTINE FERNANDO SAUCEDO

THE CO-MAIN EVENT FEATURES WILLIE NELSON VS. VANES MARTIROSYAN, THE EAST COAST RETURN OF FORMER UNDISPUTED LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP CHAD DAWSON AND UNDEFEATED DOMINIC WADE AGAINST KEANDRE LEATHERWOOD

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NEW YORK (Sept. 25, 2014) -- Undefeated Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy (20-0-0, 12 KOs), of Las Vegas by way of Cuba, will defend his IBF junior lightweight title against former world title challenger and IBF No. 3-ranked challenger Fernando  David “El Vasco” Saucedo (52-5-3, 8, KOs), of Florencio Varela, Argentina, in the main event of aSHOWTIME Boxing Special Edition quadrupleheader on Saturday, Oct. 4, live on SHOWTIME  (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Conn.

In other 10-round fights on a four-fight telecast: Willie “The Great” Nelson (23-1-1, 13 KOs), of Cleveland, Ohio, will be opposed by Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (34-1-1, 21 KOs), of Glendale, Calif. by way of Armenia, in a collision of once-beaten junior middleweights, former light heavyweight world champion “Bad" Chad Dawson (32-3, 18 KOs), of Las Vegas by way of New Haven, Conn., fights for the first time in his home state in five years when he goes up against Tommy Karpency (23-4-1, 14 KOs), of Adah, Penn, and promising middleweight Dominic “Lights Out” Wade (16-0, 11 KOs) of Largo, Md. will put his perfect record on the line against KeAndre Leatherwood (14-2-1, 10 KOs), of Birmingham, Ala.

The 5-foot-11, 29-year-old Barthelemy, a boxer-puncher with good skills, movement and punching power, is making the first defense of the 130-pound title he won with a dominant 12-round decision over defending champion Argenis Mendez in his last fight on July 10 in Miami,  Fla.

The victory, scored 115-111 three times, came in a rematch of a bizarre scrap on Jan. 3, 2014, in Minneapolis that went into the books as a no-decision after the former Cuban amateur standout knocked Mendez out after the bell had sounded to end the second round.

With Mendez finally in his rearview mirror, Barthelemy is looking forward to Oct. 4 and beyond.

“I’m very excited to be fighting on SHOWTIME for the first time,’’ said Bathelemy, who defected from Cuba shortly before his pro debut in September 2009. “The goal when you start out your career is to win a world title and fight on a major network. Now that I have accomplished both I want to prove I’m one of the best fighters in the world.

“Saucedo has fought a lot of guys. He’s one of the highest ranked contenders in the IBF so I’m coming in totally prepared and focused. I want to win obviously, but I’d like to win impressively.

“I want to show everybody that I’m the best at 130 pounds no ifs, ands or butts, and that includes  Mikey Garcia, Orlando Salido, who’s called me out ... So the opportunities are there for me. But first I have to defeat Saucedo.’’

A veteran of 60 pro fights, the 33-year-old, 5-foot-7 Saucedo has won 14 in a row, including seven by way of knockout. This will be not only his first time fighting on SHOWTIME, but also his first time fighting in the United States.

His last loss came in his first world title fight on a 12-round unanimous decision to WBA 126-pound titleholder and hometown favorite Chris John on Dec. 5, 2010, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Saucedo is a veteran who gets one last chance to prove he can succeed at the highest level,’’ said SHOWTIME Expert Analyst Steve Farhood. “To date, he’s been strong in Argentina but less effective outside his native country. Barthelemy is one of the brighter young titlists in boxing.’’

Saucedo, who captured the WBC Silver 130-pound belt three outings ago, is coming off a third-round TKO over Luis Juarez, last June 27 in Buenos Aires.

Farhood regards the co-feature between Nelson and Martirosyan as a “throwback fight between contenders where the stakes are self-evident.’’

“This type of matchup you don’t see anymore,’’ Farhood said. “Martirosyan is a legitimate top-10 contender while Nelson is just outside the top 10. The winner will be clearly in line for a shot at a title.’’

Nelson, a 6-foot-3½, 27-year-old, has won seven in a row since his lone defeat (on ShoBox on an eight-round majority decision to Vincent Arroyoin April 2011). Nelson was triumphant in his other ShoBox start on a unanimous 10-round decision (97-92 twice and 95-94) over left-handed former Cuban amateur star and previously unbeaten prospect Yudel Jhonson in May 2012.

After dealing Johnson his initial setback, Nelson, who’s very tall for the weight class, upset undefeated prospect and 2008 Virgin Islands Olympian, John Jackson, on a unanimous 10-round decision (98-92 and 96-94 twice) to capture the NABF 154-pound belt on Sept. 15, 2012.

Nelson underwent surgery on his left elbow in late 2013, but has fought twice since, winning a clear 10-round decision over hard-trying Luis Grajeda in his most recent outing last Aug. 8.

An amateur standout before going pro in May 2006, Nelson doesn’t plan to make radical changes in his style and technique against Armenian-born Martirosyan.

“I think Martirosyan is a good fighter,’’ said Nelson, a former U.S, amateur standout and eight-year pro. “He's well-rounded–decent speed, decent power. But I'm going to use the same game plan for him as I do for everybody else. I'm not going to change nothing. Basically, I'm just going to work on keeping him on the outside on the end of my punches."

Martirosyan, 28, is coming off a unanimous 10-round decision over Mario Lozano last March 21 in Cabazon, Calif. In his first start for new trainer,Joe Goossen, and new promoter, Goossen Tutor, Martirosyan dominated; he scored a knockdown with a right hand in the second and consistently outboxed and outworked Lozano to win going away by 100-89 three times.

A 2004 U.S. Olympian, Martirosyan is 6-foot-tall boxer-puncher who possesses good power, movement and speed. He’ll be looking to make it two-for-two for his new team on Oct. 4.

“I've been training for this fight for over 2 and a half months–it's been a long camp,’’ said Martirosyan, who lost a 12-round split decision to undefeated lefthander and 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade(117-110, 114-113 and 112-115) in a fight for the vacant WBO junior middleweight belt on Nov. 19, 2013. “Every time I spar, I'm sparring 15 rounds, 20 rounds. We're working really hard. I've never in my life sparred so long or experienced something like this.

“I think Nelson is a good fighter. He always finds a way to win even though he gets hurt or dropped, and you've got to respect him for that. But he has to respect me, too, because I've never been so hungry in my life,” said Martirosyan. “This is basically do-or-die for me."

In a sensational amateur career in which he was an eight-time National champion, the lanky Martirosyan upended Timothy Bradley, who went on to win super lightweight and welterweight world titles, Austin Trout, who would become the WBA super welterweight titlist, and Andre Berto, who went on to win the WBC and IBF welterweight belt.

In the second televised fight of the evening, “Bad Chad” continues the second chapter of his career, as he calls it, against Pennsylvania nativeKarpency in an attempt to get a step closer to another world title shot.

Dawson is coming off a 2:35 first-round knockout over George Bladeslast June 21 on SHOWTIME EXTREME^®.

The knockout over the outclassed Blades snapped a two-fight losing streak for the former two-time light heavyweight world champion. ”It was good to get some of the ring rust off,’’ he said. “I think the time off did me a lot of good. I got a little rest and got to spend time with my family.

“With that fight out of the way, I’ll be sharper and in better shape this time. Nothing's really changed for me.  I’m just back to being myself and working hard and doing the right things. I’m strong and I’ve got that hunger back. ’’

Once considered one of the most talented pound-for-pound boxers in the world and the last fighter to defeat Bernard Hopkins, “Bad Chad” also owns victories over Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson (twice each),Tomasz Adamek and Adrian Diaconu. This will be his first fight in Connecticut since he unanimously outpointed Johnson in their rematch in November 2009, and his first at Foxwoods since 2004.

But questions remain about whether Dawson can regain his past form. “Dawson is at a point in his career where he has to give fans reason to think he can again be a dominant light heavyweight again,’’ Farhood said.

Fellow southpaw Karpency, 28, has won two consecutive fights, including a unanimous 10-round decision over Dhalir Smith last July 26. He has experience against good opposition. In February 2012, he fought WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly in England; in his next fight he met hard-hitting, world-ranked Andrzej Fonfara. He’s also been in with Karo Murat.

Wade and Leatherwood will square off to open the telecast in a 10-round middleweight bout.

Twenty-five-year-old Wade has won five in a row since returning to the ring in February 2013 after a two-year layoff. In his ShoBox debut and first scheduled 10-rounder, the former amateur star stepped up in class and won a unanimous decision over Nick Brinson. He also registered a spectacular one-punch second-round TKO over Marcus Upshaw.

Leatherwood is a 5-foot-10, 25-year-old who's won two straight fights since losing a 10-round decision to Hugo Centeno in a disappointing effort in his ShoBox debut on March 8, 2013. Leatherwood is coming off a first-round knockout over Mickey Scarborough last April 5.

Tickets, priced at $150, $90 and $45, may be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, by calling the Foxwoods' box office at 800-200-2882, or in person at the Foxwoods' box office. Tickets may also be purchased through any Ticketmaster outlet or online atTicketmaster.com.

Doors open at 6 p.m. The first live, non-televised fight is at 6:30 pm. The event is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing with the co-featured Nelson-Martirosyan match promoted in association with Rumble Time Promotions and Goossen Tutor Promotions.

Barry Tompkins will call the SHOWTIME BOXING Special Edition action with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.