Welcome to Fightful's live coverage of Raymundo Beltran vs. Paulus Moses. On this edition of ESPN's Top Rank Boxing card, the vacant WBO lightweight title is on the line in the main event. We'll be providing you with quick results of the prelim card, as well as full round-by-round coverage of the main event.
Follow along the action on our Disqus board below:
Below is the main card (9 p.m. EST, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Watch ESPN):
- Raymundo Beltran defeated Paulus Moses via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112) to win the Vacant WBO lightweight title
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas defeated David Avanesyan via TKO, round 6, 1:55 to retain the NABF welterweight title
- Shakur Stevenson defeated Juan Tapia via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72): featherweight bout
Below is the prelim card (7 p.m. ET, Watch ESPN):
- Bryant Jennings defeated Ahror Muralimov via TKO, round 3: heavyweight bout
- Alexander Besputin defeated Wesley Tucker by TKO, round 6: welterweight bout
- Sagadat Rakhmankulov defeated Noel Esqueda via TKO, round 5: junior middleweight bout
- Robson Conceicao defeated Ignacio Holguin via unanimous decision (60-52, 60-52, 60-54): junior lightweight bout
MAIN CARD
Shakur Stevenson vs. Juan Tapia: featherweight bout: This fight was essentially a 24-minute squash match for Stevenson to further add experience. For starters, he looked solid fighting in his first eight-round bout in his professional career. Tapia was tough, but he barely landed any solid punches in the first six rounds. It wasn't until the seventh round where Tapia landed a couple of good, hard left hands on Stevenson. Regardless, Stevenson looked comfortable fighting in longer fights and Stevenson probably will be expected to have similar fights such as these as he looks to become a title contender for 2019 and beyond.
Official Result: Shakur Stevenson defeated Juan Tapia via unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72, 80-72)
Egidijus Kavaliauskas (c) vs. David Avanesyan: NABF welterweight title bout: Avanesyan looked like he was a step slower than Kavaliauskas and the NABF champion kept using the jab well and land power punches with his right hand whenever it was truly needed. Avanesyan was rocked in the third round, but it wasn't until the sixth round where Kavaliauskas hurt Avanesyan with a mean right hand that split through Avanesyan's guard. What followed was Kavaliauskas landing at least two dozen punches uninterrupted which prompted referee Tony Weeks to put a stop to the fight. In a post-fight interview, Kavaliauskas said he wanted Terence Crawford next. That fight could be made, but Kavaliauskas would be a massive underdog against Crawford depending on if he wins the WBO title in April and how he looks fight as a welterweight for the first time in his pro career.
Official result: Egidijus Kavaliauskas defeated David Avanesyan via TKO, round 6, 1:55 to retain the NABF welterweight title
Raymundo Beltran vs. Paulus Moses: Vacant WBO lightweight title bout
Round 1: Moses begins with a couple of left jabs. Moses has his back to the ropes for a little bit. Beltran misses with a right hook and Moses misses with a left hook. Beltran connects with a couple of left hooks. Beltran is having an easy time connecting punches to Moses’ body. Beltran continues to throw and land his left body hooks. Moses splits Beltran’s guard with the left jab. Beltran continues to use the left hook as the round ends.
Fightful scored round 1 for Beltran 10-9
Round 2: Moses starts the round by throwing several combos, but most of his punches fail to land on Beltran. Beltran connects with a 1-2 using his left hand to Moses. Both men clinch. Moses is using the jab a bit more but Beltran connects with a right hook. Beltran lands an uppercut and Moses responds with a left jab. Moses connects with a right hook and Beltran responds by landing one of his own. Beltran is now throwing combinations to throw off Moses’ rhythm. Moses ends the round with a good right jab upstairs followed by one to Beltran’s body.
Fightful scored round 2 for Beltran 10-9
Round 3: Beltran is on offense to start the round. Moses misses a right hook upstairs. Both men trade jabs early on. Moses’ left jab is blocked but then connects with the left hook. Moses’ right hand connects to Beltran’s jaw. Beltran connects with the left hook while Moses lands a right uppercut. Beltran’s left hook is blocked while Moses is looking more comfortable.
Fightful scored round 3 for Moses 10-9
Round 4: Moses opens the round with some good jab work. Beltran has his right overhead punch blocked. Moses lands a good right hook and then an uppercut. Beltran lands another right hook near the side of Moses’ head. Both men trade punches. Moses lands a right hand and Beltran counters with a stiff right hand and the two men clinch. Beltran barely connects with a left uppercut. Beltran is starting to bleed a lot around his left eye.
Fightful scored round 4 for Beltran 10-9
Round 5: Moses lands a good right jab to Beltran’s jaw and Beltran catches Moses off guard and connects with an overhead right and Moses is hurt for a second. The crowd in Reno is excited and chanting for Beltran. Both men exchange punches up close. Beltran eats a right hand, loses his footing and nearly gets knocked down but recovers his balance before his glove touches the canvas. Beltran throws a left hook to the body but Moses connects one as well.
Fightful scored round 5 for Beltran 10-9
Round 6: Beltran and Moses are throwing punches but both men are a little more cautious due to each of them having cuts. Beltran lands three straight jabs upstairs. Beltran connects with the left hook as he’s bleeding profusely around his right eye now. Moses and Beltran are now trading hooks and combinations with neither man getting the advantage. After both men trade shots, Moses connects with the left jab.
Fightful scored round 6 for Moses 10-9
Round 7: Moses connects with a solid 1-2 combo and both men clinch. Beltran is using the lead jab to set up the right hook. Beltran throws a left jab followed by a left uppercut. Moses misses with a wild right hook. The two men continue to trade shots left and right. Moses continues with the good body work, landing a few left hands there. The two men clinch once more. Moses connects with a solid right jab and Beltran ends the round with a couple of left hands.
Fightful scored round 7 for Moses 10-9
Round 8: Moses blocks a right hook from Beltran. Moses lands a right uppercut to the body and Beltran lands a left hook. Beltran continues to attack with the left hand, but Moses continues to look relatively fresh. Beltran throws a combination of punches to Moses’ body. Moses now throwing several straight jabs to keep Beltran honest.
Fightful scored round 8 for Moses 10-9
Round 9: The two boxers continue to trade punches as the round begins and Beltran is hurt and his knees buckle due to a straight right hand by Moses. Moses lands a left hook upstairs and Beltran throws a 1-2 and then both men clinch. Beltran is mounting a minor comeback trying to attack the body. Beltran throws a couple of right jabs. Beltran continues to throw everything he can, but Moses lands a left jab. Beltran finishes the round by throwing a couple of left hooks to the body.
Fightful scored round 9 for Beltran 10-9
Round 10: The Championship rounds begin with Beltran unleashing a flurry of punches as a small but vocal part of the audience is chanting “Mexico!” The two men clinch and Beltran connects with an uppercut. Moses lands a couple of left jabs that split Beltran’s guard. The two men basically wrestle each other standing up. Beltran throws a couple of body shot combinations. Beltran is gaining a ton of momentum in this round as Moses is becoming less and less active as the round progresses.
Fightful scored round 10 for Beltran 10-9
Round 11: Beltran continues to work Moses’ body as the cut above Moses’ eye starts to show blood again. Moses barely connects with the right hook. Moses throws an uppercut and Beltran responds by throwing several punches. Moses connects with the uppercut, but it doesn’t appear to do much damage to Beltran. Once again, Beltran works the body with his right hand. Beltran connects again with the right hand. Both men trade punches as the round ends.
Fightful scored round 11 for Beltran 10-9
Round 12: The final round begins with both men throwing everything but the kitchen sink to each other. Both men close the distance and are engaging in some seriously close combat. The two men clinch and Moses connects with a right uppercut while in the clinch. Beltran continues to attack with a flurry of punches. The two men clinch a couple of times as they are both clearly exhausted. The two men trade punches until the fight ends
Fightful scored round 12 for Beltran 10-9, making it 116-112 for Beltran
Official result: Raymundo Beltran defeated Paulus Moses via unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 116-112) to win the Vacant WBO lightweight title
