by Tamas Pradarics

Paulus Moses is making the finishing touches on his long and hard training camp before his arguably biggest challenge so far that comes this Friday in Reno, Nevada and on ESPN.

The Namibian fighter, who is about to make his American debut, will face off hard-hitting Mexican-American contender Raymundo Beltran for the vacant WBO lightweight championship.

Moses (40-3, 25 KOs, 1 ND), who previously held the WBA regular title between 2009 and 2010, turns 40 this coming June thus this is very well being his last chance to win another belt. The Windhoek-based pugilist is well aware of the task at hand and looking forward to performing on fight night.

“It’s an excellent opportunity, that came at the right time of my career. We have been pushing for this opportunity, but you know it’s not always easy to make it happen and I want to thank the good Lord and my dedicated team for making this happen. It is definitely a fight I am ready for, and one I am looking forward to,” told an anxious Moses to BoxingScene.com.

To secure a world title, however, is just one of the prizes the winner could grab when Moses and Beltran (34-7-1, 21 KOs, 1 ND) square off on Friday evening.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko, who is ranked in the top 3 on many major P4P lists, is scheduled to abandon his WBO 130-pound championship to challenge himself at lightweight.

Beltran is favored to get a shot at Lomachenko around late spring in case of a win over Moses. That would be a logical choice as both participants fight under the promotional banner of Top Rank.

But what if veteran Moses can cause a huge upset from his 20-to-1 underdog role? Would he be willing to challenge one of the finest boxers of this generation?

“Lomachenko is much talked about right now and he deserves his accolades. When and not if I defeat Beltran on February 16, I can fight anybody including Lomachenko. It will be a great fight for sure and I hope that Loma is mentally prepared for the lightweight division. He is a great fighter but beatable.“

You can reach Tamas Pradarics at pradaricst@yahoo.com and follow him on https://twitter.com/TomiPradarics.