LAS VEGAS — It wasn't a memorable night for either fighter in terms of performance, and the result was on par as Robert Easter Jr. and Rances Barthelemy battled to a split draw Saturday in a lightweight title tilt that was devoid of action.
The two clashed in the main event of Showtime’s tripleheader from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan and struggled to entertain from the outset. Neither fighter could impose their will.
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The 28-year-old Easter (21-1-1) sought to reclaim the thunder he once had before running into the buzzsaw known as Mikey Garcia last July. The 32-year-old Barthelemy (27-1-1) looked to claim a vacant title and establish himself as a top lightweight. Neither happened.
Much of the first two rounds consisted of Easter giving chase and Barthelemy circling away in search of an opening to counter. Both fighters struggled to land anything of significance, but Easter was the aggressor while his Cuban counterpart did nothing of consequence.
Easter inched closer in the third round with a prodding jab and a straight right hand that found its mark. The fight changed in the fifth when Barthelemy decided to become the hunter and landed several thudding left hands that got Easter's attention. Easter backed off and found himself on the wrong end of several right hands as the momentum changed. Barthelemy kept it going in the sixth with Easter unable to find his range with the jab. "Kid Blast" scored in intervals with the straight left and shots to the body.
Neither fighter was able to string punches together. Fans were left seeing Barthelemy pot-shot while Easter often found himself whiffing on his power punches. Fans of both fighters urged them on but the second half of the fight was mostly the two simply staring at each other and throwing single punches.
Easter charged in to start the seventh and peeled off several combinations that backed Barthelemy into the ropes. After all the rounds of non-action, it appeared that business was finally picking up for two fighters in need of making a statement.
Unfortunately, things went right back to the way they were as Barthelemy kept the distance and Easter couldn’t figure out how to close the gap.
Easter smacked Barthelemy with a straight right hand in the ninth, the best of the fight. The Cuban took the punch well but Easter certainly had his attention in a round where very little happened aside from that punch landing.
Perhaps feeling that the fight was hanging in the balance, Easter slammed a combination into Barthelemy in the 11th round but Barthelemy stepped back and picked his spots, much to the chagrin of the crowd. The 12th round remained the same and a perfectly appropriate split draw was the result as scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 114-114 were read.
Viktor Postol scores unanimous decision over Mohamed Mimoune
Postol, a former 140-pound champion, may be closing in another title opportunity with his victory over Mimoune in a 10-round WBC super lightweight title eliminator showdown.
It wasn’t pretty, but Postol (31-2) was far more effective than his French opponent, often beating him to the punch and finding a home for a straight left hand. Referee Robert Byrd was a bit busy in the early going as the two often were locked in a clinch due to Mimoune's awkward advances and Postol trying to hold his position.
Mimoune (21-3) found success in the middle rounds with wide, sweeping hooks from the outside as Postol struggled to snuff out those awkward advances, but Postol's boxing ability and work off the jab allowed him to rack up the rounds.
In the end, the fight was a competitive performance that wasn't necessarily indicated on the scorecards, which read 98-92, 97-93 and 99-91.
The victory puts Postol in line for a shot against WBC champion Jose Ramirez, but the fight will be difficult to bring to fruition with Ramirez being under the Top Rank/ESPN umbrella.
Efe Ajagba annihilates Michael Wallisch in two rounds
Ajagba didn’t have to worry about Wallisch leaving the ring but he certainly provided a painful exit for his opponent by way of a second-round TKO.
Ajagba gained notoriety last summer when Curtis Harper infamously left the ring shortly after their fight started and refused to engage with the hulking Nigerian.
Wallisch proved to be more than willing to fight, but that turned out to be a terrible idea. It didn’t take long for Ajagba (10-0, 9 KOs) to impose his will as he pounded on Wallisch with jabs, hooks and uppercuts. The German continued to press forward but his punches had little effect on the 25-year-old rising heavyweight.
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Ajagba cranked up the pressure in the second and dropped Wallisch (19-2) with a barrage of punches punctuated by a left hook. A late blow by Ajagba while Wallisch was down on one knee nullified the knockdown, but that turned out not to matter. Wallisch pressed on and Ajagba thumped him with a bevy of power shots, prompting referee Tony Weeks to save Wallisch from further punishment at the 1:40 mark.
The future is mighty bright for Ajagba, who continues to improve under the tutelage of esteemed trainer Ronnie Shields. His camp certainly won't rush the 2016 Olympian, but don't be surprised if he cracks the rankings before the end of 2019.
