Beltran to defend lightweight title against Andreev after Top Rank wins purse bid

Top Rank won the purse bod to stage the WBO lightweight title bout between Ray Beltran and Roman Andreev. The fight will take place on August 25th in Phoenix, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“It’s probably a very tough and competitive fight,” Top Rank Vice-President Carl Moretti said. “It’s probably the kind of all-action fight Ray Beltran is usually in. I don’t see this fight being much different than the usual fights Ray is in. Andreev is a strong, come-forward fighter with full intentions of winning the title and taking it back to Russia, which would not please [Top Rank chairman] Mr. [Bob] Arum.”