Beltran admitted to have mixed feelings about how it ended, as did most of us who watched the fight?
Saturday night at New York?s Madison Square Garden, Raymundo Beltran (33-7-1, 21 KOs), the veteran from Phoenix, Arizona, by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, knocked out Jonathan Maicelo (25-3, 12 KOs), ?The Last Inca? from North Bergen, New Jersey, by way of Callao, Peru, with a single punch at 1:25 of round two.
Everybody loves knockouts. However definitive, the ne plus ultra of a quintessential blood sport, context is everything, and in the fight between Beltran and Maicelo, with its politicized back-story, context was elevated to something above and beyond one man separating another from his senses.
Although Beltran has lived in the U.S. for 20 years, he, like many of his countrymen, fears being deported back to Mexico. He isn?t trembling in his boots, no professional fighter trembles in his boots, but he hoped that fighting for a world title, even a minor world title, would enable him to obtain an EB-1 green card, which he said is ?almost like winning the lottery ticket,? after proving his ?exceptional ability? by defeating Jonathan Maicelo.
?This fight is very important to me because it?s another chance for the title,? he said during the final presser prior to the fight. ?Not only that, but winning this fight I think will put me in a position to get my green card. So when I get my green card, I?m gonna go to Trump Tower and walk with it in my hand.?
Many were hoping Beltran would fulfill his dream by winning another title, albeit a minor title, and thereby sticking it the man. But one man?s dream is another man?s nightmare, and it was Maicelo, not Beltran, who had the misfortune to experience the latter.
Fighting out of the red corner in red trunks, 35-year-old Beltran entered the ring as the reigning and defending NABO/NABF lightweight champion. He lost a decision to WBO champion Terence Crawford in 2014, but has always fought hard and has never failed to acquit himself in the ring.
Thirty-three-year-old Maicelo, fighting out of the blue corner in white trunks, is more boxer than puncher. He had not faced the same level of opposition as Beltran, but he is a credible opponent and created more problems for the champion than anticipated.
Beltran was officially knocked down at 2:06 of the first round after an accidental clash of heads, which the referee, David Fields, somehow missed. He jumped to his feet and took the mandatory 8-count, when both fighters clashed heads again. No one went down this time, but both fighters were bleeding, Maicelo from a gash at his hairline and Beltran from a cut above his left eye. As the opening round was drawing to a close, Beltran landed a left hook that dropped Maicelo at the bell. No count was administered.
Maicelo appeared to take control of the bout in round two. A multi-punch combination drove Beltran to the ropes. He made his way back to center ring and a right hand stunned him. Maicelo landed a three-punch combination that drove Beltran to the ropes again. Moments later the Peruvian threw a lazy left hook at the same time Beltran threw a short left hook of his own that Maicelo didn?t see coming and was right on the money. Maicelo went down hard and his head bounced off the canvas. The referee didn?t both to administer a count. He was sprawled on his back and immediately surrounded by ringside physicians and officials.
With his left leg shaking involuntarily and still throwing punches from a prone position, a neck brace was brought in to stabilize his head and he was loaded onto a stretcher and removed from the ring.
When he finished celebrating the victory, Beltran realized that the man he defeated was in a bad way. He told Max Kellerman after the fight, ?I never want to see my opponent hurt. When I fight, I never really expect to really hurt my opponent really bad. I don?t mean no harm, you know what I mean? That?s what we do, but I really felt bad because I didn?t expect that he was going down that bad.
?I figured out his timing pretty quick. He pawed a right hand. I then hit him with a lead left hook. I?ve knocked out a lot of people with that punch. That?s my punch.?
Beltran admitted to have mixed feelings about how it ended, as did most of us who watched the fight.
?I feel very happy,? said Beltran. ?And I can?t really explain my feelings right now. [The victory] meant everything in the world to me. It was for my kids, it?s for my family, it?s for my green card and it?s for me to finally get another title shot. I?ve been a citizen of the ring for a long time, now I want to be a citizen of the U.S. It?s hope for my family and a better future.?
