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Super featherweight Rances Barthelemy knocked out reigning IBF titlist Argenis Mendez on Friday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN, but the victory was not without controversy.
Both fighters are towering for the weight, and at 5’11, Barthelemy is an inch taller than Mendez but also has the greater reach, and perhaps this convinced the shorter-armed counter-punching champion to uncharacteristically come forward.
Mendez took chances from the first round, pressing the Cuban born challenger and winging wide punches from close quarters. Barthelemy was much more disciplined and conservative in his approach, using the jab and footwork to keep Mendez away and basically ineffective.
Midway through the opening round, Mendez was hurt by a counter left after neglecting defense during an attack on Barthelemy and then again by the same punch near the end of the first.
Mendez was even more aggressive in the second but also even less effective except for a few hard body shots. Barthelemy started to find his range, scoring with right hands and short lefts as well as his own body shots.
A Barthelemy body shot on the belt line set up another scoring left hook that dropped the champion hard to the canvas during the closing moments of the frame.
Mendez beat the count but Barthelemy was all over him, scoring heavily. The bell to end the second round rang but the challenger kept punching, nailing Mendez with a right to the neck and a full-blooded left hook to the jaw that poleaxed the champion.
Mendez attempted to get up but repeatedly fell back to the canvas, prompting referee Pete Podgorski to end the fight at 2:59 of the second.
While Mendez was in desperate trouble when the bell rang, and very much losing the fight, he was definitely hit twice and knocked out, after the bell hand sounded.
Should that have been grounds for a disqualification? In the very least, a No Contest could have been the proper result rather than awarding a victory after such a blatant foul.
As it stands, Barthelemy improves to 20-0 (13) while Mendez falls to 21-3-1 (11).
Expect a rematch.
On the undercard, local middleweight Caleb Truax, 23-1-2 (14), was held to a draw by veteran Ossie Duran, 28-11-3 (11), in a hard-fought ten rounder.
