MEXICAN lightweight Ray Beltran is working to force his way to a world title fight. His next bout will be on August 5, on Vasyl Lomachenkoโs undercard at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, against Bryan Vasquez.
โHeโs tough, a tough opponent, he comes to fight and he can take a punch. I expect a physical fight. Iโll get ready and prepare myself for a hard fight. Weโre getting ready,โ Beltran tells Boxing News.
It will be his second fight of the year, after he knocked out Jonathan Maicelo in May. โI think itโs good. I love it. I prefer to stay busy, stay in shape and fighting. I donโt want to spend too much time off. I want to fight and be busy and keep the rhythm,โ Ray continued. โWeโre working to get another title, hopefully after this fight. Weโll see what weโve got and what the opportunities are. Weโre trying to position ourselves to become mandatory in the most sanctioning bodies possible, because itโs been really hard to get an opportunity, we feel like theyโre avoiding us and they donโt want to fight us so weโre trying to become mandatory so theyโve got nowhere to go.โ
Beltran is keen to fight the best at 135lbs. โRight now weโre mandatory for the IBF, we also might fight for the WBC. Mikey Garcia, Terry Flanagan, [Jorge] Linares, Iโll fight everybody. I just want to get that opportunity,โ he said. โWeโll see what happens in the future.โ
The Mexican has fought Ricky Burns and Terence Crawford for the WBO title and would love to challenge their reigning champion. โTerry Flanaganโs a really good fighter, heโs a champion. Heโs improving,โ he said. โI respect him. Iโve got nothing bad to say about him. Heโs a really good champion. Heโs just one of the guys on my list and I think Iโve got what it takes to beat him.
โAll the champions are good. Itโs good for us. I love it. It really motivates me to work hard and become a champion, and get respect.โ
However he is concerned about judging and decisions in the sport. Heโs been unlucky in the past himself.
โThe judges, they do whatever they want and they donโt get sanctioned. They should do something about it. Itโs not good for boxing,โ Beltran mused. โThe only one who gets sanctioned is the boxer. Other than that nobody, not the referee, not the judges, nobody. Itโs not fair. If we make a mistake and we pay for it, okay we pay for it. But if somebody else makes a mistake and itโs obvious itโs corruption, they should do something about it. Itโs just unacceptable.
โTheyโre stealing money from boxing fans. Itโs not fair. Theyโre going to kill boxing if they donโt make a change. If they canโt do their job then get them out.โ
He points to Manny Pacquiaoโs recent Australian misadventure as another example. โThe referee did a horrible job. Jeff Horn was fighting dirty and the referee didnโt do anything,โ Beltran said. โHe was fighting so dirty. He did what he had to do to get the win but thatโs the refereeโs job, to keep a close eye and the judges, itโs stupid, itโs ridiculous. Iโm scared what they can do to me.โ
He added ominously, โItโs getting worse.โ