Ghana’s sole world titlist Richard Commey floored his Mexican challenger Raymundo Beltran four times before referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. was compelled to end hostilities at the Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, USA this morning.
This was Commey’s (29-2, 26 KOs) first defense after his brutal TKO victory over Russian Isa Chaniev on February 2nd in Frisco, Texas and though Raymundo Beltran came in overweight at 145.6 pounds against Commey’s 142½ pounds, it did not take long before the Ghanaian registered his intent in just one minute and nine seconds into the fight with two solid knockdowns.
Beltran, an all-action fighter was smart to fight himself out of the receiving end and was saved by the timely intervention of the bell.
Richard Commey showed that he has got the chin and eat some good left hooks from Beltran with no worries. The Ghanaian who is fast becoming a knockout artiste virtually schooled the former world champion with some slick combos. It was only a matter of time before a knockout and Commey delivered that in round 8 with a smart left hook.
As usual Richard Oblitey Commey showed class in his post fight comments.
“Beltran showed why he was a champion. He’s a great fighter, who showed it against me tonight. I was happy to get the job done.” The Jamestown native reiterated.
“He caught me with a good shot in the round, and the referee decided to stop the fight. Now I’m gonna get together with my team and figure out what’s next. If I fight on, I will move up to 140 pounds.” The self styled ‘Sugar’ stated.
Commey-Beltran, headlined a Top Rank show on ESPN, and rightly so the bout sure did not disappoint with some power shots and occassional pound for pound exchanges.
What’s NEXT
Commey is going to end the hype surrounding rising lightweight contender Teofimo Lopez (13-0, 11KOs) later this year before the ultimate prize asset, Ukranian poster boy Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020.
Exciting times are ahead for Ghana boxing and what is undeniably a fact is that Vasiliy Lomachenko must be weary of Richard Oblitey Commey now more than ever.