Next week in Los Angeles, three-time world title challenger and IBF #2 lightweight contender Ray Beltran (33-7-1, 21 KOs) will be defending his NABF and NABO lightweight titles against former two-time WBA interim super featherweight world champ and current WBA #1 contender Bryan Vasquez (36-2, 19 KOs).

A former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao, Beltran still trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood with Pepe Reilly. Every fight he wins gets him one step closer to a precious green card via the “extraordinary athlete” status needed to qualify for the EB-1 green card typically available to certain sportspeople, entertainers, and masters of the arts and sciences. Recently, he has been in the U.S. under an athletic visa.“The plan is to knock out Vasquez,” said Beltran. “That is the goal I want to achieve to be able to get the big fight. I want to give the fans another impressive victory and make it clear that I am a world-class fighter.

“I feel very motivated. To get my green card is as important or more important than winning a world title. This is not just about myself, this is also about the future of my family.”