Raymundo Beltran vs Hiroki Okada Preview Feb. 10th
Former WBO Lightweight Champion Raymundo Beltran of Mexico takes on unbeaten Hiroki Okada of Tokyo, Japan this Sunday, Feb. 10th at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California. The 10-round junior welterweight bout can be seen live in the USA on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while fans in Canada can catch the action on TSN 2. Beltran last fought in when he lost his title to Jose Pedraza by a unanimous decision. Okada’s last outing was in September when he beat Cristian Rafael Coria by a 10-round split decision even though he was dropped in the final round.
Beltran vs Okada Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Hiroki Okada +315
- Raymundo Beltran -380
My Pick
The 37-year-old Beltran won the vacant belt over Paulus Moses via a unanimous decision in February of 2018 in his fourth shot at the WBO Title, but lost it in his first defence against Pedraza. Beltran came close to winning the title in 2013 when he travelled to Scotland to face Ricky Burns, but was handed a controversial split-decision draw. He then fought Terence Crawford a year later and dropped a unanimous decision. Beltran fought Takahiro Ao for the vacant title in 2015, but he failed to make the weight.
Beltran managed to stop Ao halfway through the second round, but the fight was ruled a no-decision as he also failed a drug test. Beltran was anxious to win a world title to prove he’s an elite boxer and remain in the USA with a green card, but missing weight and failing drug tests were an odd way to go about it. He’ll enter the ring with a record of 35-8-1 with 21 Kos to his name. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall, has a 68-inch reach and has fought 259 rounds since turning pro in 1999. Beltran likes to press the action as he’s aggressive, but has average power with a current knockout ratio of 47 per cent.
Beltran isn’t the quickest boxer around and has been beaten by Crawford, Luis Ramos Jr, Sharif Bogere, Ammeth Diaz, Agnaldo Nunes, Steve Trumble, and Victor Manuel Mendoza with Diaz and Trumble both stopping him in the fourth round. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Moses, Bryan Vasquez, Jonathan Maicelo, Mason Menard, Arash Usmanee, Ji-Hoon Kim and Henry Lundy with his draw coming against Burns. Beltran has also won several regional pro belts including the USBA, NABF, WBO NABO and WBA International Lightweight Titles.
The 29-year-old Okada climbs into the ring with a perfect record of 19-0 along with 13 Kos. He turned pro in 2011 and has 110 rounds of experience to his name since then. He’s 5-feet-9-inches tall with an unlisted reach so is an inch taller than Beltran. He’s fought mainly in his homeland and is a former Japanese Super Lightweight Champion who defended his strap six times. He then won the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Super Lightweight Crown in December of 2017 with a sixth-round stoppage over Jason Pagara.
Okada has fought once outside of Japan and that was also at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, the site of this fight, last October in his last bout. He has pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 68 per cent, but will be stepping up in class here against Beltran. Okada’s eight years younger than Beltran and that could be a big factor.
Prediction…
Beltran’s no spring chicken now at the age of 37, but of course he has a lot of experience. He’s a solid pro, but not really an elite boxer. Of course, neither is Okada. This is a tough call, but I think Okada has the better overall boxing skills here and as long as he can take Beltran’s toughest shots then I think he’s got a good chance. Both men have tremendous heart, but I just have a feeling that Beltran’s time may have come and gone. He may still have enough left in the tank, but an Okada win won’t be a big upset. I think Okada may do enough to pull out a close win as he steps up in class against Beltran.
I’ll go with Okada in a bit of an upset here.
Play: Okada +315 @ BetOnline.ag
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Hiroki Okada betting • Raymundo Beltran betting