Mickey Bey’s Narrow Title Triumph
On September 13, 2014, Mickey Bey defeated Miguel Vázquez by split decision over twelve rounds to win the IBF lightweight championship.
Mickey Bey’s lightweight title story turned on one close night, then took another turn before he could settle in as champion. On September 13, 2014, he faced longtime IBF titleholder Miguel Vázquez on the Floyd Mayweather–Marcos Maidana rematch card in Las Vegas. Twelve rounds later, the judges gave Bey a split decision and the world title.
It was an official win, but not a verdict everyone saw the same way. MMA Fighting’s ringside report recorded the judges’ scores and scored the bout for Vázquez. That disagreement belongs in the story: Bey left the arena with the IBF belt, while the close decision remained debated by observers.
Bey did not get a conventional championship run. He never made a title defense and vacated the belt in 2015 (PBC career account) after a hand injury and a dispute over terms for a fight with mandatory challenger Denis Shafikov. The title reign lasted only months, but it still placed Bey among the world champions of a crowded 135-pound division.
A year later, Bey returned to the title picture against Rances Barthelemy, who held the IBF lightweight championship. Their June 2016 fight went the distance; Barthelemy retained by split decision. Bey came close again, but the judges’ verdict went the other way this time.
Those two split decisions frame Bey’s championship chapter: one brought him the belt, the next kept it out of reach. His brief reign should not be inflated into a string of defenses, nor erased because the Vázquez result was contested. The record is simpler and more compelling: Bey earned the official decision over a long-reigning champion, lost the title without defending it, and later pushed another titleholder through twelve rounds.
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Defining Fight Results
Bey beat Miguel Vázquez by split decision, a close result that remained disputed by some observers. The official verdict made him IBF lightweight champion, but he did not make a successful defense before losing the belt.
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Mickey Bey, Boxing, Boxing History, Championship Fights
