Pete Podgorski did a terrible job in the 1st fight
Argenis Mendez vs. Rances Barthelemy: It isn't often that a referee is the sole reason a fight was ruined. Yet that was exactly what happened the first time Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KO) and Rances Barthelemy (19-0, 12 KO) faced off against each other in January of this year. With fifteen seconds left in the 2nd round Barthelemy dropped Mendez who was hurt badly. Mendez beat the count and with only a few seconds remaining Barthelemy went in for the kill. Barthelemy threw a combination and caught Mendez with a right hand and a devastating left hook which knocked him out, the only problem was that those two punches landed after the bell. Referee Pete Podgorksi was well out of position during that exchange. He had a fighter who was hurt in the ring and should have been very close to the action to stop the fighters at the bell, instead who was circling behind the fighters a few feet away. Because of the horrendous job by Podgorski the fight was ruled a no contest even though had the fight continued it was clear Barthelemy would have won. So now on July 10th fans will have the rematch they didn't ask for. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds for Mendez's IBF junior lightweight title, the title Barthelemy thought he won in the first go around. Both of these fighters are pretty similar in that they both fight out of the orthodox stance and both have nice jabs and good left hooks. The big difference comes in the power department. Barthelemy has much better power and hurt Mendez many times in their first bout. Its interesting because Mendez who doesn't have much power likes to fight on the inside where Barthelemy the more powerful fighter chooses to do battle from a distance. Another difference is that Mendez is probably the more technically sound fighter but isn't as busy as Barthelemy who is always putting in good work, especially his right hand to the body. In their first bout Barthelemy did a great job of landing heavy right hands to the body which set up his left hook upstairs. While the rematch might be slightly more competitive I expect Barthelemy to be extremely confident and aggressive and win the fight legitimately this time by the way of 7th round knockout.
We will not be seeing the Lacy of old
Humberto Savigne vs. Jeff Lacy: The other bout on this card should be called "Battle of the Elderly" because it features 35 year old Humberto Savigne (12-1, 9 KO) against 37 year old Jeff Lacy (26-4, 18 KO). The two fighters are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the light heavyweight division and the bout should be an intriguing one. The more well known of the two is Lacy who was once a top fighter who just couldn't get past elite opponents like Joe Calzaghe, Jermain Taylor, and Roy Jones Jr. and has been semi-retired as of late. Lacy fought twice in 2009 and once in 2010 but didn't step into the ring at all in 2011 or 2012 and only fought once in 2013 against a weak opponent. At this point in his career Lacy isn't very fleet of foot and because he fights with his hands low he isn't very hard to hit. Still the orthodox Lacy has a strong straight right hand and like his nickname "Left Hook" would indicate he still has his powerful left hook. While he is still capable of beating much lesser fighters it remains to be seen if he can give a true prospect a real challenge. That is what makes this fight interesting because fans still don't know if Savigne is a real prospect or not. Savigne is also an orthodox fighter and has a very sharp jab in his toolbox and an equally sharp straight right hand to follow it up. Savigne also has a very powerful overhand right and a left hook that has some power behind it but comes in very wide. Savigne hails from Cuba so he is schooled in the philosophy of hit and don't be hit and he does a good job of that by controlling the distance with his jab and using his feet pretty well. While Savigne has look pretty good throughout his young career he has done it against sub par competition and Lacy, even a lesser version of himself will still be Savigne's toughest test to date. With that said I still think that Savigne at this point in their respective careers is the better fighter and he will be fresher than Lacy which will allow him to win this fight via unanimous decision.
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