BoxRec

http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article.php?aid=31581

A WBA elimination bout is set between undefeated former lightweight champion Rances Barthelemy and former junior welterweight title challenger Kiryl Relikh. The bout will take place in April or May on a PBC broadcast, no network, venue or exact date have been booked as this goes to print.

Barthelemy vacates his IBF lightweight title to avoid fighting Richard Commey and now he is getting an eliminator for another belt against Relikh who is not world-class and has not beaten anyone good. What a joke.

RScarf1 wrote:Barthelemy vacates his IBF lightweight title to avoid fighting Richard Commey and now he is getting an eliminator for another belt against Relikh who is not world-class and has not beaten anyone good. What a joke.

But as the eliminator is at 10st - and he vacated his title at 9st 9lbs........... it's not really a joke. That would only be applicable if he was doing it within the same division.

:-)

Good match.

This is what is so frustrating about the PBC. They have Barthelemy and Easter in their stable, both top 135ers. Instead of matching them up, they put Easter in a showcase fight against a cab driver while Barthelemy moves up to 140 to fight some undeserving nobody for a vacant title.

This kind of crap matchmaking kills me.

jujigatame wrote:This is what is so frustrating about the PBC. They have Barthelemy and Easter in their stable, both top 135ers. Instead of matching them up, they put Easter in a showcase fight against a cab driver while Barthelemy moves up to 140 to fight some undeserving nobody for a vacant title.

This kind of crap matchmaking kills me.

Really? What is wrong with it as a first fight for Barthelemy moving up? Relikh has one close loss to Burns (definitely closer than the scores).

Well firstly, I wish he wouldn't move up. There are lots of good matchups for him at 135.

Considering he's already established himself as a world-class fighter, I'm not really interested in seeing him fight a nobody who has never beaten anyone remotely decent, regardless of the weight class.