Panamanian 140-pound contender Cesar “Rainman” Francis (10-0, 6 KOs) will take a big step up in opposition when he faces former world champion Raymundo Beltran (37-9-1, 23 KOs) in a 10-round battle. The fight takes place on Saturday, July 9 at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida and will be streamed live globally on ProBox TV.

Francis, who was born in Panama but lives in Brooklyn, New York, is coming off the biggest win of his career, a unanimous decision victory over Mohamed Mimoune. Prior to that, he beat then-undefeated prospect Jose Roman Vazquez via decision as well. The 31-year-old Francis has only had 10 fights, but he has taken significant steps in his last few fights that have moved him up the 140-pound rankings.

“It’s my time to shine. I’m going to go in and perform,” said Cesar Francis. “Beltran is a great veteran, and I am not overlooking him. I helped Richard Commey get ready for his fight against him. And this time Commey will be my sparring partner. People better bring their umbrellas because it’s going to ‘rain’ that day.”

Beltran is a former world champion from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. He had some of the best moments of his career at 135 pounds, where he faced the likes of “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, Ricky “Rickster” Burns, Richard Commey and Terence “Bud” Crawford. His most important victory was against Moises Paulus, whom he defeated to capture the WBO lightweight belt. Now at 140 pounds, Beltran plans to use his experience to take Francis to deep waters.

“I’ve been looking and waiting for this fight,” said Raymundo Beltran. “Cesar Francis is an undefeated fighter who has a lot of confidence, and this is the kind of fight I need to put myself back on the map. I think my experience will help a lot because I’ve been in there with high-level fighters. Like always, I will do my part to make sure it’s an action-packed fight. My fights have never been boring. They’re always full of action.”

A press release by ProBox was used in this article.

Raymundo Beltrán