Rances Barthelemy to Fight Antonio DeMarco June 21 on CBS

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Undefeated Cuban sensation Rances Barthelemy will fight Antonio DeMarco on Sunday, June 21, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight, which was officially announced on Thursday, will headline an afternoon card that will be televised live on CBS via Premier Boxing Champions.

Barthelemy has been largely impressive in his pro career, after having a terrific stint as a Cuban amateur, where he was a national champion. Barthelemy (22-0, 13 KOs) has taken several quality fighter thus far in his career, culminating in capturing the IBF super featherweight title. He last fought on March 26, where he stopped Angino Perez in the second round.

Barthelemy has not been impervious to controversy, though. His January 2013 unanimous decision win over Arash Usmanee was widely considered a lousy decision, and his second-round knockout of Argenis Mendez a year later was switched to a no contest when replays showed his fight-ending blow came well after the bell had sounded to end the frame. Barthelemy out-pointed Mendez later in the year to genuinely capture the title.

“I’m excited for this big opportunity and I can’t wait to show the world what I’m capable of,” Barthelemy said in a statement. “A big fight like this is what I want. I know it will be very difficult, but I’m going to train hard to put on a show for the fans.”

DeMarco, a former WBC lightweight champion, could be the Cuban’s toughest test to date. DeMarco (34-4-1, 23 KOs) is coming off a twelve-round unanimous decision loss to Jessie Vargas last November, a fight that was for the WBA super lightweight title. The Tijuana native has taken on a string of superb fighters along the way, including wins over highly-touted Jorge Linares, John Molina Jr., Almazbek Raiymkulov and Daniel Attah. He has lost to Adrien Broner and Edwin Valero as well.

“This is a huge fight for me. I’m going to leave everything I have in that ring,” said DeMarco. “The chance to fight on network television is once in a lifetime and I’m going to make the most of it.”

Also featured on the card will be a welterweight encounter between unbeaten Sammy Vasquez (18-0, 13 KOs) and Wale Omotoso (25-1, 21 KOs). Vasquez, from Pennsylvania, has served two tours of duty in Iraq as a member of the National Guard and in his last fight, he conquered tough contender Emmanuel Lartey over 10 rounds. Omotoso is a knockout artist from Nigeria, who has scored two straight stoppages since losing on points to Vargas.