Raymundo Beltran vs Cesar Francis Preview July 9th, 2022
Former WBO Lightweight Champion Raymundo Beltran of Mexico returns to the ring this Saturday, July 9th at the age of 41 when he takes on unbeaten Cesar Francis of Panama. The 10-round bout from Plant City, Florida can be seen live on ProBox TV and is being billed as a tilt for the WBO NABO Junior Welterweight Championship. Beltran last fought in October when he stopped Edgar Ramirez after six rounds while Francis last saw action in March when he be Mohamed Mimoune via a 10-round unanimous decision.
Beltran vs Francis Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Raymundo Beltran +375
- Cesar Francis -550
My Pick
Raymundo Beltran won the vacant WBO Lightweight Belt against Moses Paulus via a unanimous decision in February of 2018 in his fourth shot at the WBO Title. However, he lost it in his first defence against Jose Pedraza via unanimous decision six months later. Beltran first 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 also fought Takahiro Ao for the vacant title in 2015 but failed to make the weight.
He managed to stop Ao halfway through the second round but the fight was ruled a no-decision as Beltran also failed a drug test. At the time he 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 this weekend with a record of 37-9-1 with 22 Ko’s to his name. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall, has a 67-inch reach and has fought 282 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 47.9 per cent. Beltran isn’t the quickest boxer around and has been beaten by Crawford, Richard Commey, 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 and Commey stopping him in the eighth in June, 2019.
The biggest wins in Beltran’s pro career have been against the likes of Hiroki Okada, Moses Paulus, Bryan Vasquez, Jonathan Maicelo, Mason Menard, Arash Usmanee, Ji-Hoon Kim and Henry Lundy with his lone draw coming against Burns. Beltran has also won several regional pro belts during his career including the USBA, NABF, WBO NABO and WBA International Lightweight Titles.
The 31-year-old Francis fights out of Brooklyn, New York and owns a perfect mark of 10-6 with 6 Ko’s. He’s boxed just 39 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017 and just four of his 10 opponents have had winning records. He’s displayed pretty good power up to now with a current knockout ratio of 60 per cent but will definitely be taking a huge step up in class against Beltran.
Francis stands 5-feet-11-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. This gives him a three-inch height advantage on Beltran though. As mentioned, Francis has fought limited opposition so far as a pro with his biggest wins coming over Mohamed Mimoune, Jose Roman Vazquez, Victor Abreu, and Maxito Sainvil. He has good skills and power, but Francis is no youngster as he’s 31 years old.
Prediction…
Beltran has had a pretty odd career with failed drug tests and missing weight on more than one occasion. At his best he was a solid pro with a lot of heart but those days may be past him now. Francis needs to make a statement now as he’s no youngster and this is his first test against a former world champion. Perhaps he’s bitten off more than he can chew but we won’t find out until Saturday night. I don’t think Beltran has much left in the tank these days though after numerous wars and expect Francis to have his hand held in victory.
Francis should be able to pass his first tough test due to his skills.
Play: Francis -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Cesar Francis betting • Raymundo Beltran betting