APPEARANCES can be deceptive.
It must be hoped, therefore that Raymundo Beltran proves less menacing in a boxing ring than he appeared yesterday when he was introduced to the Scottish media.
Beltran's largely unmarked features and piercing eyes hinted at a man who can look after himself, which is perhaps not surprising, given that he is the famed multi-world champion Manny Pacquiao's regular sparring partner.
Beltran also succeeded in giving the distinct impression that he is not at all fazed by the prospect of attempting to relieve Ricky Burns of his World Boxing Organisation lightweight title at Glasgow's SECC on Saturday evening.
It seems reasonable to assume, though, that it would take considerably more than an evening spent in the company of 6000 Scottish boxing fans to unnerve the 32-year-old Mexican, for Beltran is used to dealing with adversity. If Beltran is to be believed, the challenger's life has been one long struggle against the odds almost from the moment he could walk.
While most five-year-olds are looking forward to starting school, Beltran was grafting in the fields of his home town of Los Mochis in an effort to survive. Caught in the poverty trap he was born into, Beltran had little option but to grow up quickly and adapt.
"I come from a very poor family," he said. "I started working when I was five years old and my first job was picking orange fruit flowers on a plantation and planting corn with my grandpa.
"The fruit flowers were to feed the chickens and we were paid by the bagful. We lived rough and it was a hard life, but we had to do what we did, because basically I had nothing: no home, no food, no electricity; nothing at all.
"It was a tough and difficult upbringing and everything I have achieved in life and in my career I have had to earn. No one has ever given me anything for nothing. My life, my career, I have made myself. No promoter had made me. It's been a hard road and I am what I am because of boxing. It has given me a better life and enabled me to support my family.
"Boxing was a way out. Most people where I come from live in poverty and all they know is hard work to survive. So the only way to reach the next level and have a better life is through boxing. So, yes, I am a hungry fighter and I really want this because I have been working all my life for this moment.
"I have fought in someone else's backyard the whole time and I want to thank Ricky and his team for giving me this chance. I think I should have been fighting for a world title before now, but everything happens for a reason."
It was hardly surprising to hear Beltran add: "The crowd won't scare me. In fact, the reception I have had from the Scottish people has been much better than I imagined it would be. They have been very respectful and made me feel at home. Of course they will support their own fighter and I understand that. But they are also fair minded and I am sure they will appreciate my boxing."
Beltran is aware of how close Jose Gonzalez came to unseating Burns in the 30-year-old Coatbridge boxer's most recent defence, but he stressed: "It's not about Gonzalez or Ricky; this is about me. I am on my own journey and, after all that I have been through, I believe I am going to win. Ricky is a dangerous champion and I have nothing but respect for him. That's why I have trained hard, in anticipation of a tough fight. I am not saying that I have fought better boxers because that would be disrespectful. But I have been in with good quality and passed the test.
"I have a game plan, but I can adapt to different styles and win either by a knock-out or on points and I am confident that the judges will be fair, because everyone I have met wants a fair fight. I can feel that."
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