Photo by Leo Wilson Jr. / PBC

Rances Barthelemy retained his IBF lightweight title with a 12-round split-decision win over former titleholder Mickey Bey on Friday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Barthelemy (25-0, 13 knockouts), of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Arroyo Naranjo, Cuba, remained unbeaten with his superior workrate which enabled him to penetrate through Bey’s shoulder roll defense to earn the edge on two scorecards that read 117-110 and 116-111.

The third, turned in by Hilton Whitaker III, read 117-110 in favor of Bey, marking the second time the New Jersey-based judge had scored a fight controversially against a Cuban boxer. In 2011, Whitaker was suspended indefinitely by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board for scoring the Paul Williams-Erislandy Lara fight in favor of Williams despite overwhelming belief that Lara should have won comfortably.

Bey (22-2-1, 10 KOs), who is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, had previously won the IBF title in 2014 with a split decision victory over Miguel Vazquez in 2014 but lost it when he failed to meet mandatory challenger Denis Shafikov the following year. Barthelemy fought Shafikov instead, winning a unanimous decision and the title.

The 32-year-old Bey, a native of Cleveland, Ohio now training out of Las Vegas, was credited with a knockdown in round two, though replays show that Bey’s punch attempt went over Barthelemy’s shoulder and the knockdown was caused by a clash of heads high on Barthelemy’s temple. It was the first time Barthelemy had ever been ruled knocked down.

The long-armed Barthlemy, a former titleholder at 130 pounds, recovered well the following round, and by round four was outpunching Bey in close and at a distance. Bey countered effectively in spots but could not keep up with the pace set by Barthelemy. As the championship rounds drew to a close, Barthelemy remained the more aggressive of the two.

The fight was the main event of a PBC on Spike telecast.