| Beltran, Jr. to meet Meza-Clay |
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| Written by Banner PR | |
| Wednesday, 29 April 2009 | |
Promoters Arthur Pelullo/Banner Promotions and Rodney Berman/Golden Gloves will present a sensational championship fight card on Friday, June 19, 2009, at the Laredo Entertainment Center, located at 6700 Arena Boulevard in Laredo, Texas. The main event, co-feature, and other selected fights will be televised live on ESPN2, ESPN Desportes, their Spanish-Language Network, and ESPN 360.com. In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds, Fernando Beltran Jr., 32-3-1 with 18 knockouts, of Culiacan, Mexico, the International Boxing Federation’s number four ranked featherweight contender, will make his first defense of the IBF Latino featherweight title against Monty Meza-Clay, 28-2 with 19 knockouts, of Rankin, Pennsylvania, the IBF’s number six ranked contender. 
Beltran, a 27 year-old lefthander, won the vacant title with a 12 round split decision against Miguel Roman of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, at the Laredo Entertainment Center in his last fight on March 20. Doug Fischer reported on The Ring blog [excerpts]: Two-time title challenger Fernando Beltran Jr. kept his hopes for a third title shot alive with a hard-fought split-decision over Miguel Roman, who put forth a spirited effort in the main event of the ESPN2-televised main event.... Beltran, who won by two scores of 115-113, mixed his offense from a distance and in close, alternating boxing with two-to-toe exchanges. However, it was Roman, who took the fight by a lopsided 117-111 tally on one scorecard, who won over the crowd with his non-stop aggression and relentless body attack. [End Fischer item] Meza-Clay, now 28 years old, is coming off a loss in his last fight in January but had previously won eight fights in a row, six by knockout, which included his career-best win in February, 2008 - a seventh-round TKO against former IBF featherweight world champion Eric Aiken. After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Don’t you just love Meza-Clay? He’s just 5-foot-2, but what he lacks in size he more than makes up for with his non-stop punching and his ability to get inside and work the body. From the outset of the “Friday Night Fights” main event, Meza-Clay took it to Aiken, who won a featherweight belt in May 2006.... Although Meza-Clay was in control from the start, this was an entertaining scrap as both men threw and landed a lot of punches. By the seventh round, Aiken had almost nothing left and Meza-Clay bullied him into the ropes and was teeing off with a flurry of 25-plus unanswered shots when the referee properly intervened. [End Rafael item] Monty said, “I have the same approach for every fight. I just impose my will on him, let him try to figure me out. I’m going to do me – I’m going to stick to my gameplan. There’s nothing different other than - ring the bell, let’s fight!” The co-featured bout is to be announced. 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade, 4-0 with 4 knockouts, of Providence, Rhode Island, will also be featured on the card in a four-round jr. middleweight bout against an opponent to be announced. One of boxing’s top young prospects, Demetrius is fighting for the fifth time since turning pro last October. More exciting preliminary fights will complete the card. All bouts subject to change without notice. Doors open at: 6:00 P.M. (Central Time) First fight at: 8:00 P.M. (Central Time) Tickets will go on sale May 9 at 10:00 A.M. Tickets prices: $10, $22, $62, $92; service charge and facility fee are added to each ticket price. Tickets available at: Laredo Entertainment Center Box Office; all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, and TicketMaster.com. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 April 2009 ) |
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