Rances Barthelemy is preparing for the biggest fight of his career next Saturday night vs. Robert Easter, Jr. for the WBA lightweight title.
The bout headlines the Premier Boxing Champions event live on Showtime from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
For Barthelemy, a former two-division champion, this fight is the chance to get his native country back on the map and propel himself into the headlines.
“We have no doubt that we’ll become champion again for a third time on April 27,” he said. “This will bring my name back at the top of the sport with many potential big fights to be made. It will mean so much more to me because Cuban boxing has currently gone through a rough patch and this victory will allow Cuba to have a champion once again.
“Please make sure to tune in on April 27. This fight will be very competitive, with two evenly-skilled former world champions looking to reclaim their status at the top of the sport. Fights like this are what make boxing great. Cuba will have a champion once again on April 27.”
After losing for the first time in his pro career in a 140-pound title fight against Kiryl Relikh last March, Barthelemy rebounded to stop Robert Frankel in December as he prepared to return to the lightweight division to face Easter.
“Most definitely, I have been able to move on and use that defeat as a lesson in my career. They say sometimes we learn more in defeat than we do in victories and that was the case in that fight,” the former champ said. “Sometimes we do not see clearly when we are winning. Bad habits or little details that need correction are overlooked when you are winning. Sometimes we do not even see them. I feel rejuvenated and we have made many important changes that were necessary for my career. You will see on April 27 that there is still much more left from Team Barthelemy.”
Since the loss to Relikh, Barthelemy made fellow Cuban and former world champion Joel Casamayor head trainer as he looks to return to the championship ranks.
“Everything has been going well under the guidance of Joel Casamayor and the assistance of my brother Yan Barthelemy and Oscar Vasquez,” he said. “We have been training twice a day and sparring three to four times a week against solid guys like former world champion and ex-opponent Mickey Bey. Like they say, ‘iron sharpens iron’ and the quality of sparring has been tremendous help in getting me ready for April 27. I feel better prepared both mentally and physically than I did in my most recent fights.”
The card also features former super lightweight champion Viktor Postol vs. Mohamed Mimoune in a WBC super lightweight title eliminator and heavyweight Efe Ajagba vs. Michael Wallisch.