Afghani-Canadian super featherweight contender Arash Usmanee wishes to congratulate new IBF Super Featherweight Champion Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy for his title-winning decision over Argenis Mendez last Thursday (July 10) in Miami.

“Barthelemy looked good taking it to Mendez and he deserves the belt,” said Usmanee.

But now that the dust has settled on the Barthelemy/Mendez rivalry, Usmanee (21-2-1, 10 KOs) says the new champion has only one thing he can do to prove he deserves his spot on top.

“Barthelemy himself knows he didn’t beat me when we fought. If that fight was anywhere but his backyard, he would have never even gotten the chance to fight for the title. If he’s a true champion, he will face me in his first defense and try to erase what everyone but the three judges saw as a loss for him.”

Usmanee and Barthelemy faced off in January of last year in the Cuban Barthelemy’s adopted hometown of Miami and, after 12 rounds, the nearly unanimous consensus was that Usmanee had come on in the second half of the fight to dominate and deserved a clear decision. Unfortunately, the three judges saw it another way and awarded Barthelemy the unanimous verdict. The fight was an IBF title eliminator for the #2 spot in their rankings.

“If our fight was held anywhere but his backyard, he would have never gotten the chance to win the belt,” continued Usmanee. “If he wants to be a true world champion, then he can’t pretend that didn’t happen. A true champion would want to try to erase that blemish on his record immediately and I hope that’s what he chooses to do in his first defense.”

Usmanee’s promoter, Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions, says he is waiting to hear from Barthelemy’s promotional team.

“They know how lucky their guy got in Florida against my guy. And I know they’re all honorable people, so I expect they’ll take a little time to enjoy the belt and then we can all get to work on establishing the true champion of the IBF at super featherweight. My guy isn’t just going to go away. They need to make this fight to establish their own legitimacy as champion.”

In August of last year, Usmanee, established his performance against Barthelemy was no fluke by fighting to a draw with then-champion Mendez in his only world-title try.

In April of this year, Usmanee took an over-the-weight and short-notice fight (less than one week) against a much bigger Rey Beltran and lost a decision after a valiant effort as the co-feature on the Pacquiao vs. Bradley II undercard. Since then, Usmanee won a decision June 13 over the durable Juan Ruiz and is laser focused on securing the much-deserved rematch with Barthelemy.

Cohen stated, “Usmanee vs. Barthelemy II is a fight that must be made to establish who the true king is at 130 lbs in the IBF. I’m eagerly awaiting hearing from Barthelemy’s people to start negotiations.”

Last Friday night (June 13) at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, one of the world’s best super featherweights, Afghani-Canadian Arash Usmanee (21-2-1, 10 KOs) returned to action with an eight-round decision over California’s Juan Ruiz (23-13, 7 KOs).

In the ring for the first time since his brave showing against WBO #1 ranked lightweight Raymundo Beltran in April, Usmanee fought off frustration over Ruiz’s veteran tactics to clearly win seven rounds.

Usmanee’s promoter, Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions, says he was happy to see the Ruiz fight serve its purpose.

“Ruiz has gone the distance with a long list of top fighters and, true to form, he gave Arash eight rounds of work. One of the judges scored it a draw, but the other two were watching the fight and gave Arash a wide decision.”

The victory puts Usmanee back into contention at his natural weight of super feather. Against Beltran, Usmanee started out quite well, but fighting on short notice against a larger opponent, he eventually tired and dropped a unanimous decision.

“Arash deserves another shot at the super featherweight championship and that’s what we’re after,” continued Cohen. “He beat Rances Barthelemy everywhere but the scorecards and had a draw against the then-champion Argenis Mendez. Those are the top two guys in the IBF at 130 lbs. We’re going to keep him busy and wait for the winner of the upcoming Barthelemy vs. Mendez rematch or a fight against any of the other top super featherweights in the world.”

Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions wishes to congratulate his fighter, Afghani-Canadian super featherweight contender Arash Usmanee (20-2-1, 10 KOs) who stepped up in weight on short notice to face WBO #1 ranked Raymundo Beltran (29-6-1, 17 KOs) for the WBO NABO Lightweight title last Saturday night, April 12.

Fighting in the co-main event of the HBO Pay-Per-View card featuring the Timothy Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Usmanee put in a brave performance against the larger Beltran, but became understandably fatigued as the fight progressed.

Although it was Beltran who was awarded the unanimous decision by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111, Usmanee made many new fans with his courage in taking on a larger man on short notice and hanging in for 12 tough rounds.

“Arash never ceases to amaze me with his toughness,” said Cohen. “How many fighters in the world could step up a weight class on less than a week’s notice and go toe-to-toe for 12 grueling rounds with a top fighter like Ray Beltran?”

With the victory, Beltran earned the right to face unbeaten WBO lightweight titleholder Terence Crawford, while Usmanee will return to his natural weight of 130 lbs and continue to campaign for another shot at the world championship.

“Arash will fight anyone in the world at super featherweight,” continued Cohen. “He beat (top contender) Rances Barthelemy everywhere but the scorecards and had a draw with (current IBF champ) Argenis Mendez. He’s an elite super featherweight and his short-notice foray into the lightweight division, and the guts he showed doing it, only further solidify what a world-class warrior he truly he is. I’m very proud of him and he will be back at 130 lbs very soon.”

Manny Pacquiao 145 – Timothy Bradley 145.5
Ray Beltran 134.5 – Arash Usmanee 135
Bryan Vasquez 130 – Jose Felix 130
Oscar Valdez 129 – Adrian Perez 130

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Afghani-Canadian super featherweight contender Arash Usmanee (20-1-1, 10 KOs) will step into the highest-profile fight of his life on short notice and face WBO #1 ranked Raymundo Beltran (28-6-1, 17 KOs) for the WBO NABO Lightweight title this Saturday, April 12, in the co-main event of the HBO Pay-Per-View card featuring the Timothy Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

An extended illness suffered by former two-time world champion Roman “Rocky” Martínez forced him to cancel, creating the huge opportunity for Usmanee, who was already in the gym preparing for another fight.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 tickets, priced starting $435, are now available for purchase at Ticketnetwork. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Buy Tickets Center at (855) 859-4045.

Usmanee is ranked #9 at super featherweight by the IBF. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, he and his family moved to Alberta, Canada, when he was three years old. He now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. The aggressive 32-year-old’s career has been marred by controversy thus far, as his two biggest career fights have both ended with questionable outcomes. In his only defeat, Usmanee dropped a highly controversial 12-round decision to Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy on January 4 of last year. Fighting for the IBF #2 ranking and live on ESPN Friday Night Fights, Usmanee appeared to take the fight over at the midway point and grew more dominant as the rounds wore on. However, the judges saw it another way.

And then, in August of last year, Usmanee missed winning a world championship by a single point when he fought to a draw with Dominican champion Argenis Mendez at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

Beltran has also seen his share of hard luck in the ring. He was last seen fighting to a very debatable draw with then-world champion Ricky Burns in September of last year. Burns was down in the eighth and suffered a broken jaw in the second round that subsequently required the insertion of a titanium plate to repair. And yet it was not enough to sway the judges, as the fight was held in Burns’ homeland of Scotland.

As tough as they come, 32-year-old Beltran was born in Los Mochis, Mexico, but now lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

The pair will not only be vying for the WBO NABO Lightweight title, but also a place in the front of the line to face new champion Terence Crawford, who defeated Burns by decision in March of this year.

Usamanee’s promoter, Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions, says the match-up has explosive written all over it.

“Neither of these guys take many backwards steps in the ring. It’s going to be a war of attrition from the first round. You could easily say this is a battle between the uncrowned IBF Champion and the uncrowned WBO Champion. It’s a very high-level match-up between two of the toughest guys in the sport. It’s going to be a sensational slugfest!”

Former 130 lb champion Roman Martinez was forced to withdrawl from this Saturday’s fight with Ray Beltran that was to be part of the Manny Pacquiao – Timothy Bradley Pay Per View card according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

Martinez is ill and will be replaced by Arash Usmanee.

“Rocky went to see the doctor twice. That’s what Peter Rivera (Martinez’s co-promoter) told us,” said Top Rank’s Carl Moretti. “He said Rocky had no energy, low blood sugar and had not been feeling well for four or five days. Maybe he has the flu or something, but whatever it is, he doesn’t feel good and pulled out of the fight. He had missed going to the gym for three or four days in a row and on Friday he pulled out. He is just not going to be ready to fight.”

“I’m finishing the deal with (Usmanee promoter) Greg Cohen. I don’t have the paperwork yet, but that’s what we’re trying to get done,” Moretti said. “I worked things out with Greg on Friday. He said Usmanee had been in the gym training and was going to have some sort of fight soon, so this worked out for them. He’ll be in shape for the fight because he was already training. Greg says (Usmanee) is a gym rat.”