Mason Menard Expects Best Beltran, Ready For His Big Moment

By Francisco Salazar

Boxing is all about taking risks, whether it is inside or outside of the ring.

Lightweight contender Mason Menard can attest to that.

He hopes taking a risk in the biggest fight of his pro career will pay off huge dividends if he comes out victorious tonight.

Menard will face former world titleholder Ray Beltran at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. The 12 round bout will precede the junior welterweight clash between Terence Crawford and John Molina.

Both bouts, including the replay of the heavyweight clash between Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz, will air on HBO, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m.

Beltran will be a significant step up in opposition for Menard, a native of Rayne, Louisiana. Beltran has faced numerous world titleholders and contenders and has won his last two bout by knockout.

“He’s a great fighter,” Menard told Boxingscene.com earlier this week by phone of Beltran. “I respect the guy as a former world champion. My job is to outsmart and outfox him. He’s standing in my way of a title run and I’m doing the same to him. I know I’m going to get the best Ray Beltran (tonight).”

Menard is ranked number four by the WBO and number 10 by the WBA.

The 28-year-old Menard fought in relative obscurity, having fought most of his fight in Louisiana, before scoring a highlight-reel one punch knockout of Eudy Bernardo on April 15. In his last bout on August 19, Menard knocked out Bahodir Mamadjanov.

Both those fights aired on Showtime’s ‘ShoBox’ series.

“Everything really fell into place this year,” said Menard, who is promoted by Greg Cohen. “I had three fights scheduled for this year, but all weren’t scheduled to be televised. The fight with Bernardo was by accident. My fight against Mamadjanov happened because they couldn’t find opponents for either of us so they matched us up.”

“For the Beltran fight, I was scheduled to fight on December 15 in Louisiana, just to stay busy for a fight I had scheduled on January 13 in Southern California. When we were offered this fight against Beltran, I didn’t hesitate. Bigger audience and a big arena? I took the fight right away.”

Menard is now looked as a legit title contender. A victory over Beltran could find him in a position to fight for a world title as early as next year.

But a win over a seasoned and accomplished fighter in Beltran would solidify his standing in the sport.

“A victory over Beltran would be huge. He’s a solid guy. The victories this year opened doors and opened peoples’ eyes.”

“I’m very hungry and I’m nowhere near to what I want to accomplish and that is winning a world title belt. I just want to accomplish special in the ring.
  
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing