Raymundo Beltran is a fifteen year veteran of the fight game, and up until September 2013 he was chiefly known as Manny Pacquaio’s sparring partner. Then he was given an opportunity to travel to Scotland in an attempt to dethrone then WBO Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns. Now he is known as the guy who got robbed on his travels, because even after breaking Burns’s jaw early on, he then proceeding to back him up to the ropes and hook away to the body and head for the rest of the scheduled distance. The judges still only saw fit to score the fight a draw. It was a glaring example of one of the more unsavoury aspects of boxing, something that is disgusting to see no matter how many times it rears it’s ugly head.
Fortunately, Beltan’s performance that night has left his image as a top contender in the 135 lb. division seared on to the brain of every fan who witnessed it. Now his efforts have been rewarded with a crack at Terrence Crawford, the man who took the same flight across the Atlantic and ripped the same title Beltran had challenged for away from Burns in front of a hostile partisan crowd, and did it in such a convincing manner that there was no chance he would be dealt the same raw deal as Beltran. These two men share a common opponent, and on November 29th they will share the same ring and duke it out for the title. Nestor Gibbs (@nesgto) spoke with Beltran over the phone (almost two months away from fight night) to get the challenger’s thoughts on what awaits him when he steps up again to championship level.
After confirming he was about 15 lbs. out from making weight, Beltran answered as to whether he saw anything he would be able to capitalize on in Crawford’s last outing in June, where he dominated Yuriorkis Gamboa on route to a ninth round TKO. “I don’t take any credit away from Crawford he did a great job, although Gamboa made a lot of mistakes like fighting with his hands down, staying wide open, and he got tired after four rounds, then Crawford took over. He kind of exposed Crawford a little bit you know.” When asked to elaborate on that last point he said, “He caught him a couple of times and made him wide open for the shot.” So, Beltran clearly sees some defensive deficiencies he feels he can capitalize on come fight night, especially seeing as there won’t be such a disparity in size between Crawford and Beltran as there was with Crawford and Gamboa.
Continuing on, it also became clear that Beltran was unconcerned with Crawford’s ability to fight capably from either stance when he was asked if the champs’s knack for doing so would be a disadvantage to him.“That’s not even in my head you know. He could be right-handed or southpaw, I’m just going to do my thing. Gotta find a way to execute the plan.”
The line of questioning then became more specific as to how Beltran may approach his second title fight in just over a year. Would he apply pressure and back his man up to the ropes and make him feel uncomfortable as he has done to opponents in the past? He replied, “I don’t know. Every fight is different, every opponent is different so I can’t really say that. But we’re going to find out and get ready for anything. Different fight different story, you know?”
Finally, he was asked whether he had any problem with the fight being in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, bearing in mind that in his first shot at the belt, after years of campaigning in obscurity amongst bigger names with comparable ability, he was royally screwed out of the win. His response was typically stoic and straight forward; “No it’s not a problem, I’m not even thinking about that. I’m just going to do my job. The fight is just me and him in the ring so I’m not even worried about it.”
This man must have extraordinary resolve and belief in his own abilities to display such a shoulder-shrugging attitude in the face of what lies ahead. He is about to fight a stone-faced assassin in Crawford, and in the man’s hometown to boot. If we are to take his words at face value then the demons that are sure to surface in circumstances so similar to that of such a disappointing chapter in his career, will be shattered more definitively that Burns’s mandible after a clean left hook. We can only wait and see, but Beltran doesn’t seem scared of anything at the moment.
