Boxing In Mexico: Humberto Soto Wins WBC Title In Torreon

ByAlejandro Tostado

Less than four months after his controversial disqualification against Francisco Lorenzo, super featherweight Humberto Soto captured the vacant WBC title with a smashing effort against Gamaliel Diaz last night at Auditorio Centenario in Torreon, Mexico.

Having already crushed Rocky Juarez’s unbeaten record in 2005 and chased then WBO titlist Joan Guzman all over the ring last year, Soto, 45-7-2 (29), followed up his dominating performance against Lorenzo with a superb dismantling of Diaz.

Diaz, who was KO’d by WBC Featherweight Champion Jorge Linares late last year, never had a chance against one of the top super feathers in the business as Soto went to work right away and canvassed the Nezahualcoyotl resident in the first round.

From that point on it was a one-sided contest and Diaz showed a lot of heart to survive until the tenth round when referee Laurence Cole took two points away for holding. Soto was likely on the verge of a knockout and Team Diaz elected not to send their man out for the eleventh frame.

Soto moves to 45-7-2 (29) and becomes the new WBC Super Featherweight Champion while Diaz drops to 23-8-2 (10), losing the second of his last three bouts.

There were two good bouts on the undercard as Brazilian slugger Carlos Nascimento, 21-1 (18), caged the vacant WBC Latino Light Middleweight belt by forcing a third round referee stoppage of veteran Ulises Duarte, 16-19-1 (18).

Nascimento suffered his only loss when KO’d in the 11th round by WBO Light Middle Champ Sergiy Dzinziruk in Germany in 2007.

Hard-punching 19 year old super feather Humberto Mauro Gutierrez, 24-1-1 (19), avenged the only disappointment of his career as he reversed the May 17 split decision loss to former Mexican Champion Guadalupe Rosales, 27-3 (15), in a hard fought battle that served as a WBC Super Feather elimination bout.

Rosales, who has never been stopped, was canvassed in the first but beat the count and went back at it with Gutierrez, who’s committed body attack was found to be a bit overzealous, losing points in the second and fourth frames for low blows.

By the time the smoke cleared after the ten scheduled rounds, Gutierrez was awarded the unanimous decision via scores of 96-91, 95-92 and 94-93.