By Steve Kim
Coming off his solid ten-round decision over Emanuel Taylor on May 16th, Antonio Orozco and his team were ready to take the leap to the next level. And on October 3rd they will face the respected Humberto Soto as the co-feature on HBO's 'Boxing After Dark' telecast.
The 22-0 (15 KO's) Orozco feels as the time was right for such a test.
"Yeah, definitely, Frank (Espinoza), my manager and Golden Boy have guided my career very well and I think this is a moment where we find out exactly where we're heading. With Humberto Soto he holds credentials to show that he's an opponent that if I beat, I can move forward. So I'm feeling very comfortable with him. Styles make fights and just as much as he brings that fan-friendly fight, I do as well."
Orozco is a grinder and he figures to bring the fight to the seasoned Mexican, who wont be hard to find. Against Taylor he got ten hard rounds in the books and he learned a thing or two.
"Pacing myself and definitely it was a step-up challenge for me. He'd been in there with great, great fighters," Orozco said of Taylor who had boxed the likes of Chris Algieri and Adrien Broner in the past.
"I think that was a fight in which I told myself, 'This is it, this is what I need. This is what it's come to' and definitely looking forward to this one. We're ready for this."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com