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Raymundo Beltran outpoints Arash Usmanee, eyes Terence Crawford

Fighters Network
12
Apr

LAS VEGAS — Lightweight contender Raymundo Beltran dictated the pace and pressured throughout the fight to win a one-sided unanimous decision over Arash Usmanee on Saturday at the MGM Grand, earning a potential shot this summer against unbeaten WBO lightweight titleholder Terence Crawford.

Beltran won by scores of 118-110 on the card of Glenn Feldman, and 117-110 on those of Burt A. Clemens and Dave Moretti on the Tim Bradley-Manny Pacquiao II undercard.

In victory, Beltran (29-6-1, 17 knockouts) rebouned from last September's controversial draw with then-WBO beltholder Ricky Burns, whom he floored in the eighth round in Glasgow, Scotland. Burns' jaw was badly broken in the fight, requiring the surgical implantation of titanium plates.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum had said on Thursday that he would like to match the winner of Beltran-Usmanee against Crawford (23-0, 16 KOs) this summer in Council Bluffs, Iowa, adjacent to Crawford's hometown of Omaha, Neb.



Crawford was last in the ring for a dominant, title-winning decision over Burns in Glasgow on March 1, ending the loser's streak of eight consecutive title defenses.

In his previous two fights prior to Beltran, Usmanee (20-2-1, 10 KOs) had lost by unanimous decision to unbeaten Rances Barthelemy and battled to a draw with then-IBF titleholder Argenis Mendez in January 2013 and last August, respectively.

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