Elwin Soto and Angel Acosta return to Fantasy Springs Casino, only this time on separate journeys.
The pair of diminutive sluggers both made weight for their respective bouts Thursday evening at the sold-out Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Soto (15-1, 11KOs) weighed in at 107.6 pounds for the first defense of his junior flyweight title, which comes versus Philippines' Edward Heno (14-0-5, 5KOs) who came in right at the 108 pound limit.
The 12-round title fight serves as the evening's main event, which will stream live on Golden Boy's Facebook page (Thursday, 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT).
It will mark he first ring appearance for Mexico's Soto, who claimed the title in somewhat controversial fashion in stopping Puerto Rico's Acosta (20-2, 20KOs) in the 12th and final round of their clash this past June. The bout was likely going to be Acosta's last at the weight, but saw his title taken against his will as he was dropped in round three and then stopped after getting rocked early in the 12th and final round.
An in-ring protest immediately followed, but fell on deaf ears as Soto continues his unlikely surge. His first title defense comes versus Heno, a 27-year old southpaw who makes his debut both on the title stage and in the United States, having previously fought exclusively in Asia.
Meanwhile, Acosta will seek a new start as he will face Philippines Raymond Tabugon in a 10-round regional flyweight title fight. The former champ weighed in right at the 112-pound divisional limit, while Tabugon (22-10-1, 11KOs) tipped the scales at a fit and trim 111.4 pounds.
Opening the livestream, California's Ricardo Sandoval faces Mexico's Alonso Melendez in a flyweight bout also scheduled for 10 rounds. Sandoval (16-1, 11KOs) weighed 111.6 pounds in looking to extend his current 12-fight win streak. Melendez (15-3, 13KOs) had to strip down to his birthday suit in order to hit the 112-pound on his second try.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
