WBO World Lightweight Champion Terence Crawford will defend his title this Saturday, November 29th against rugged Raymundo Beltran at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Right now at Several Bookmakers, Crawford is the heavy favorite at (-1200) with Beltran paying back (+775). Crawford will be making the second defense of the title he captured off of Ricky Burns back in March, while Beltran notched a Split Draw over Burns just prior, so he has been hunting the WBO Title for a while now. Crawford is from Omaha, and he sports an extensive amateur boxing. He has gone undefeated as a pro (24-0) and he has 17 stoppages. In his last outing, in the same CenturyLink Center back in June, he put in a signature performance against Cuban sharpshooter Yuriorkis Gamboa, putting the first ‘L’ on the Gamboa’s record. Before that he went to England and came home with the title, taking it from Ricky Burns on the judge’s cards. Beltran was unable to defeat Burns, but there is a lot that can be taken from that fight. Beltran would likely have won the match with Burns if it were not for unusual judging over in the opponents hometown. Beltran, a veteran with a (29-6-1) record and 17 KOs, broke Burns jaw in the second round, an injury that shelved Burns for 6 months while he had a plate put in place. To his credit, Burns fought on, but Beltran dropped him again in the eighth and most observers’ scorecards had Beltran ahead at the end of bold, hardcore showing by Beltran. The judges here however, saw it differently as the British judge called the fight a draw and the other two judges went in opposite directions. Now, Beltran was promised a re-match but somehow, that did not materialize, as Crawford wound up facing Burns and capturing the belt when the Brit returned from healing his tenderized jaw. Do not discount the motivation that may create for Beltran. Beltran is a guy whose record is spattered with losses here and there, but as he has stepped up in competition, his game has come right along with it, as he has become a very dangerous fighter at this point in his career. He can take punishment, and he enjoys turning the boxing match into a fight. If he can make being forced to chase Crawford down in his hometown to fight for a belt that in his head should be his, Beltran may have the extra intangible on his side. For Crawford, he is fighting at home against a guy he should win. There is already talk that Crawford is looking to move to the Light Welterweight division of 140 lbs after this fight. That division is crowded with big names, including Manny Pacquiao, who has stated after this last match with Chris Algieri that fighting at 140 lbs is an option for him. A loss here in what may be his last fight at Lightweight is not the way Crawford and his team envision him making the jump. Though Several Bookmakers is not carrying a line on the fight yet, the card also features undefeated (19-0) IBF World Featherweight Champion Evgeny Gradovich as he faces the challenge of Puerto Rico’s likewise undefeated (22-0) Jayson Velez.
