GLENDALE, Ariz. — When former junior lightweight world titleholder Jose “Sniper” Pedraza signed with Top Rank in February, he certainly did so with the expectation that he would get another shot at a major belt.
But he sure didn’t expect to get it so quickly.
“I did expect to have this opportunity with Top Rank. That’s one of the reasons we signed with them,” Pedraza told ESPN through a translator. “We knew the opportunities were coming but not fast.”
Puerto Rico’s Pedraza, after all, had been off for 14 months after losing his world title to Gervonta Davis in January 2017 and then suffered through the catastrophic Hurricane Maria and its aftermath.
When he signed with Top Rank following the expiration of his previous promotional contract, he moved up to lightweight and eased back into things with an eight-round decision victory in March, and then pounded out an exciting 10-round decision over Antonio Moran in June.
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Jose Pedraza edges Antonio Moran in an entertaining bout that Pedraza wins by unanimous decision.
Then Pedraza found himself in the right place at the right time and will challenge Raymundo Beltran for his lightweight world title in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10:30 p.m. ET) at the Gila River Arena. The entire card will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 7:30 ET.
Beltran was initially slated to face pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko in a unification fight on Saturday night. But when Lomachenko tore the labrum in his right shoulder and needed surgery following his 10th-round knockout of Jorge Linares to win a lightweight world title on May 12, Top Rank went to plan B for Beltran, which was a mandatory defense against Roman Andreev. But he too wound up withdrawing because of his own medical issues.
“(Winning another world title) will mean a lot to me because not everybody gets the opportunity to become champion and even more so a two-time champion. For the island, it will mean a lot too because we need happiness and positive vibes after what happened with Hurricane Maria.”
Jose Pedraza on what winning the fight will mean for him and Puerto Rico
Pedraza (24 (24-1, 12 KOs), 29, was next in line and with the fight an attractive one — and easy to make — he got the title shot against Beltran (35-7-1, 21 KOs), 37, of Phoenix. In his fourth title opportunity, Beltran won a vacant belt against Paulus Moses in February to become the oldest fighter in history to win a lightweight world title; he will be making his first defense in a homecoming fight against Pedraza.
“I feel very fortunate,” said Pedraza, whose boxing idol is countryman, three-division world champion and Hall of Famer Felix Trinidad. “This is a great opportunity and I am going to take full advantage of it. Everything happens at the right time.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he was pleased to be able to present Pedraza with the title shot.
“He’s a hard-working kid, very, very talented. He’s a tremendous boxer,” Arum said. “He doesn’t have the greatest punching power but he’s a very accomplished boxer and he’ll give anybody a really good fight in the lightweight division, including Loma.”
For Pedraza, a decorated amateur and 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian, the chance to win a second world title is huge. He claimed a vacant junior lightweight belt by near-shutout decision against Andrey Klimov in 2015 and made two defenses before being knocked down for the only time in his career and getting stopped by Davis in the seventh round.
“(Winning another world title) will mean a lot to me because not everybody gets the opportunity to become champion and even more so a two-time champion,” he said “For the island, it will mean a lot too because we need happiness and positive vibes after what happened with Hurricane Maria. After the first loss I kept training but the opportunities didn’t come and then Hurricane Maria happened, so that stalled things even more. So we had to wait to get back in the ring.”
Now he has the hard-scrabble Mexican Beltran in his way and will face him in Beltran’s adopted hometown.
“Beltran is a great fighter. He’s a typical Mexican fighter because he puts a lot of pressure on you,” said Pedraza, a married father of three children. “He likes to fight toe to toe, so we have to be careful with that. But we plan to do is use our pressure and go to his body. A pressure fighter is a perfect style for me because I am more of a boxer. The pressure Beltran puts on a fighter is different because he knows how to cut the ring off very well. He’s going to be tough, but I know we’re going to be victorious.
“Coming to his hometown doesn’t mean much to me. I don’t see it like a threat. I’m used to it from the amateurs. I was used to going to the hometown of my opponents and other than that the fans aren’t getting in the ring with him and me.”
Not only does the fight present Pedraza with the chance to win a second world title but the winner is already committed to a big-money opportunity to unify 135-pound belts with Lomachenko when he returns from his shoulder injury, likely Dec. 1 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Arum said that both Beltran and Pedraza have already signed for the fight.
“Ray Beltran is a strong guy, a good fighter. He has good experience and maybe he comes to fight with Pedraza to keep his championship, but we are the same thing, and we need that championship — we need it,” said Luis Espada, Pedraza’s stepfather and trainer. “We need it for Pedraza to keep up with Lomachenko and maybe fight him in December. That would be big!”
A fight with three-division champion Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs), the 30-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine, is one Pedraza is as anxious for as Saturday’s showdown with Beltran.
“I’m ready. I want that challenge,” he said. “I never had the chance to unify at junior lightweight, but now that we have this opportunity against Beltran, I know I am going to become champion again. And then I want the opportunity to unify the titles with Lomachenko.”
But first up, however, is Beltran and Pedraza said it will mean the world to him and his people to have his hand raised in victory.
“It will be a lot of emotion and happiness for me when they say, ‘and the new champion,'” he said. “But I don’t like to get ahead of myself. One step at a time. But if I win the title, it’s going to mean a lot to Puerto Rico. It’s going to bring happiness to my people.”