By Francisco Salazar

It is a crossroads bout tonight between Ray Beltran and Ivan Najera.

A win keeps hopes alive for that fighter to fight another day, possibly in a big-money fight. A loss would have that fighter seriously contemplating their future in the sport.

Which is why the fear of losing could possibly give fight fans in person or watching on television a solid fight.

Beltran and Najera square off at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Tex. The eight round bout will air on UniMas, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/ PT.

Beltran (29-7-1 1 NC, 17 KOs) has the experience and better resume on his side. In his last bout on May 1 of last year, Beltran stopped Takahiro Ao in the second round, but the fight was reversed to a no decision by the Nevada Athletic Commission after Beltran tested positive for performance enhancement drugs.

Prior to that bout, Beltran lost a one-sided decision to Terence Crawford in November of 2014.

Beltran is a solid boxer-puncher, but there are some that wonder if his best days are behind him. He will turn 35 on July 23 and there is no guarantee he will fight at 135 pounds again.

Beltran tipped the scale at 137 pounds at Friday's weigh-in. He was over by half a pound when he fought Ao for the WBO lightweight title.

Najera (16-2, 8 KOs) has lost his two bouts in a row. In his last bout on Nov. 20, he was stopped in the first round by unbeaten Saul Rodriguez.

The 23-year-old will have a home field advantage of sorts as he resides in San Antonio, a two and a half hour drive to Laredo.

While Najera does have eight knockouts in his 16 wins, he has not scored a knockout in over three years, as his last seven wins have come by decision.

In the opening bout of the 'Solo Boxeo Tecate' broadcast, welterweight Alex Saucedo (21-0, 14 KOs) will fight Claudinei Lacerda (17-14-1, 12 KOs) in an eight round bout.

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 (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing