Tomorrow, Mexican Raymundo Beltran will be fighting 39-year-old Namibian fighter Paulus Moses at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino at the Grand Theater in Reno, Nevada for WBO’s vacant lightweight title.
Moses (40-3, 25 KOs) is coming off a TKO win against Tanzanian boxer Saidi Mundy. He has won his last four fights and is undefeated in his last six. His last defeat came at the hands of South African Malcolm Klassen in March 2015 and before that lost to Ricky Burns in 2012.
Beltran (34-7, 21 KOs) is coming off a good win against Costa Rican Bryan “Tiquito” Vasquez via a majority decision and has also won his last four fights. He has won five of his last seven bouts and his last defeat came in the championship bout against Terence Crawford in November 2014.
Beltran, who lives in Phoenix Arizona, is also fighting to stay in the United States after his P1 work visa is expiring in about two years. If he wins the title he may be able to secure a green card that would grant him permanent resident status as an “extraordinary athlete.”
This is the third time that Beltran gets a chance to win a world title after failing in his previous two attempts. Besides the loss to Crawford, he was the victim of a controversial decision against Ricky Burns is September 2013, when the fight was declared a draw even though he knocked down Burns and broke his jaw.
Another setback in Beltran’s career was the one-year suspension he served after he tested positive for steroids following his 2015 fight against Takahiro Ao in Las Vegas. As a result, he was fined, and his victory was declared a no contest.
Moses overall is pretty much a very average boxer, but he has a solid jab and a good right hand, and he has the potential to make this a tough fight for Beltran.
Moses could give Beltran some problems early in the fight, but the Mexican should break him down as the fight progresses and eventually knock him out somewhere in the last three rounds of the fight.
