By Jake Donovan
The bout goes the distance. In the end, the heavily favored 25-year old US-based Mexican scores a unanimous decision over the 37-year old journeyman. Rinse and repeat.
Such was tonight's Telefutura Solo Boxeo Tecate card in a nutshell, as welterweight contender Jesus Soto-Karass and bantamweight prospect Raul Martinez were impressive in their televised victories at the Jacob Brown Auditorium in Brownsville, Texas.
It wasn't the usual flame throwing performance by Soto-Karass, but his accuracy and power punching were more than enough to get past 37-year welterweight trialhorse Germaine Sanders in the evening's 10-round main event. The bout was originally scheduled for 12 rounds, but downgraded to 10 earlier in the week after it was discovered that the Mexican wouldn't be able to squeeze down to the welterweight limit.
The struggle to make weight partially explains the unusually uneventful first round for Soto-Karass, though the streaking Mexican picked up the pace midway through the second round. Sanders continued to attempt to out-finesse his younger challenger, but it was Soto-Karass' jab that controlled the tempo and kept Sanders at a desired distance all night.
Rounds three and four were Soto-Karass in vintage offensive mode, while Sanders could do little more than absorb in the moments he didn't spend in retreat mode. Having grown sick of the incoming, Sanders went into "Silky" mode in round five, spending most of the three-minute frame circling the ring in looking to avoid the incoming.
The strategy worked, even if the crowd didn't care for it, as Sanders enjoyed his best round of the fight in the sixth. It began with a series of rabbit punches, which drew a warning from referee Ruben Carrion, and ended with Sanders drilling Soto-Karass with a straight left in the corner. There was a lot of back-and-forth in between those moments. Whether or not it was enough for Sanders to have won the round is open to debate, but a hell of lot better than he had spent the previous 15 minutes of action.
The scoring of the round, and the fight, nearly became a moot point in the seventh, thanks to an Oscar-worthy performance by Sanders. Soto-Karass went on the attack early in the frame, landing a left uppercut on the border before drilling Sanders with a straight right. Sanders hit the deck, claiming the blow was low. The referee bit, and called for time as he physically assisted Sanders off of the canvas and to a neutral corner.
Action resumed after a two-minute break, with Soto-Karass picking up right where he left off. Sanders attempted to stand his ground, but with minimal success as the Mexican had regained control of the fight. It was more of the same in the eighth round, with Sanders getting in his licks, but absorbing far more in return. Soto-Karass had his overhand right dialed in, with Sanders unable to adjust.
Sensing he was way behind, Sanders finished strong, fighting on at leas even terms with Soto-Karass in the 9 th and 10th rounds. It was too little, too late, though, as the Mexican had the fight locked by that point.
Scores were 97-92, 95-93 and 96-93, all for Soto-Karass, who rolls to 19-3-3 (14KO) with the win, his third straight. The 25-year old is now 8-0-2 (4KO) in his last ten after having lost three straight in what can be classified as the end of his first career.
At the opposite end, Sanders may be looking at the end. He drops his second straight in falling to 27-5 (17KO) overall.
San Antonio-based bantamweight prospect Raul Martinez was victorious in the co-feature, keeping his record perfect with an eight-round unanimous decision over trialhorse Alex "Ali" Baba.
The 25-year old Texan, a stablemate of former junior lightweight and lightweight titlist Jesus Chavez, remained poised throughout the surprisingly competitive bout, perhaps too tranquil for his own good. Baba was stunned on several occasions, but never wilted, constantly taking the fight to his undefeated foe. Martinez controlled the action for the most part, taking everything the 37-year old had to offer and more often than not giving back far more in return, particularly to the body.
Official scores were 78-74 (2x) and 79-73, all for Martinez, who runs his record to 21-0 (13KO) with the win. The fight ended a seven-month inactive streak after remaining active in the first half of 2007.
Baba snaps a 3-fight win streak, as the transplanted Ghanaian falls to 25-12-1 (19KO).
The show was presented by Top Rank, Inc.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
