Las Vegas - The "force" was with Cuban star and newly crowned lightweight world champion Rances Barthelemy (24-0, 13 KOs) as he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Russian southpaw Denis Shafikov (36-2-1, 19 KOs) in the headlining bout of the final Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike fight card of 2015. The four-fight telecast, which was supported by non-televised fights featuring some of Mayweather Promotions' rising stars, took place at the Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The main event, which started off as a close toe-to-toe battle, ended in the Barthelemy's favor as he swept the latter quarter of the bout. Shafikov controlled the beginning of the fight, staying in the pocket and throwing more powerful punches than Barthelemy as the Cuban had a difficult time adjusting to the significantly shorter, yet stronger, style of Shafikov.

The turning point of the fight occurred when a cut caused by a punch by Barthelemy opened up above Shafikov's right eye in the eighth round. The blood began to poor furiously and referee Vic Drakulich called the ringside doctor over to inspect the cut. When the fight resumed, Barthelemy attacked the Russian's eye and never let up for the remainder of the fight. He took advantage of the cut and coupled it with his height and reach advantage which led to a recipe for success as he is now a two-division world champion. The judges saw the bout 119-109 and 116-112 twice.

"There were moments where I was trapped into my style of fighting. It took me a minute to adjust to Shafikov's style and exchange punches with him," said Barthelemy. "I'm really happy with the number of punches I was able to get off.

"I was really impressed with Shafiov's warrior style. He never gave up even after getting hurt with punches that were affecting his fight. That really caught me by surprise and also that he was able to last the whole fight. The fact that he continued really says something about him as a fighter."

"I'm not sure if I won the fight," said Shafikov. "I'm very disappointed and I want a rematch."