WBA Lightweight Title remains vacant after Barthelemy and Easter draw

WBA.com

Two former world champions clashed at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the vacant Lightweight Championship of the World Boxing Association (WBA). The fight ended in a draw, with neither man taking away the title as the judges cards came in 115-113 for Easter, 115-113 for Barthelemy, and 114-114.

The fight was a chess match, with neither man really engaging the other as the clash of styles resulted in a more technical fight, with neither fighter really landing much of note throughout the course of the fight.

The fight was Barthelemy’s return to 135 pounds after a couple of fights in higher weight classes where he did not fare so well. He came into the fight after taking his first loss last year against the Belarussian native Kiryl Relikh for the 140-pound title.

Easter Jr. on the other hand could not compete with Mikey Garcia in his most recent match and fell by way of the scorecards. Easter typically has a very high punch average and tends to overwhelm his opponents thanks to his punch volume and hitting from long distance but he did not employ that in this fight.

Barthelemy leaves the fight with a record of 27 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, and 14 knockouts. Easter Jr. leaves the fight with a record of 21 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw, and 14 knockouts.