Ray Beltran and Paulus Moses will vie for the WBO Lightweight title on February 16th in Reno, Nevada and televised on ESPN, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.
Beltran will also be fighting for a Green card to stay in the United States.
“I believe God has plans for everybody. I believe this is it for me and my team, to become a world champion at this point, not just for me but for all the hard-working people, especially immigrants, who come to this great nation to make their dreams come true, working hard and never giving up,” Beltran said. “I hope my story and my struggle can inspire others to achieve their dreams and to motivate them to never give up.
“I respect my opponents always, but this is my destiny, and no man will get in the way of that. I’m ready to prove to everyone that I am the most dangerous lightweight in the world.”
“I’m coming Feb. 16 to take what was mine in Scotland, and when I leave Reno, I am leaving as the WBO champion,” said Beltran, who spent years as the main sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao.
“I’m excited about this fight for many reasons,” Beltran said. “I’m fighting for myself — for 18 years I have worked to become a world champion. I am fighting for my family, my wife and for my children to be proud of me.
“When you’re a champion, you are a champion forever. I am fighting for my team, the people who have been with me from the start. It’s easy when you are on your way up to have fans, but my true fans have been with me at my lowest and stayed through my highs in life. This fight means everything to me. A victory will also seal my green card. For me to be world champion, and a citizen of this country, this is my dream. ”
“I just hope he comes through,” Arum said. “The other guy, Moses, is a good fighter, and sometimes Ray has great performances, and sometimes he has mediocre performances. But if he could win a world title and I could be there to see it, I would have a lot of pride in the achievement.
“But this is the kind of fight we want to do on our ESPN shows, because it’s a fight where you don’t know who’s going to win. These guys are both good, contending fighters in an even match, and that’s what people want to see. It’s a very tough fight that I think can go either way.”
