Humberto Soto - what next for WBC 130 champ?

The slow burning career of Humberto Soto is coming to a peak. After some bad luck (fighting Guzman in 1st title shot), and some poor discipline (hitting Lorenzo while down), he has become a world champion. He's put the Lorenzo DQ behind him by beating the guy in a rematch.

Soto has a brutal variety of shots, hits quite accurately and will match up really well to more aggressive fighters. I think he can really do things at super featherweight.

It seems a long time since Soto came in late notice to outbox and outslug Rocky Juarez. Clearly he does well vs aggressive types. Soto has also beaten up some tough cookies Ivan Valle, Humberto Toledo, Bobby Pac, Giovanni Lorenzo, Gamaliel Diaz. These are all fights that keep a man sharp, keep a fighter's wits occupied despite having little name value.

Soto fights Antonio Davis on march 28 in Mexico. First title defence.

Who then? There has been talk of former IBF feather titlist Robert Guerrero. I would easily pick Soto over him.

 

First off, this isn't a Joan Guzman thread. Guzman's going nowhere at 130 or 135, he's pretty much blacklisted, he's got a ban in certain states, Showtime and HBO won't want anything to do with him. Guzman's failed to make weight a number of times. He has an ugly running style, and he's been pulled out of a vacant IBF title fight...END OF.

Guzman was so defensive and Soto isn't fast enough to beat that style. Still, he tried, he didn't embarrass himself. It happens. Look what happened to Arguello vs Vilomar Fernandez.

Soto had the wrong opponent. When Soto gets the right opponents he will deliver. Look at his fight with Juarez - he showed workrate, accuracy, power. I think he would destroy Guerrero. His #1 contender is EBU champ Sergei Gulyakovic, a guy with some decent wins (over Vitali Tajbert & Leva Kirakosyan). Hope to see Soto as a busy fighter first of all, and then attract a big name.

Definitely there will be someone at lightweight. Maybe it will be Juan Diaz, or Edwin Valero, or Amir Khan, or Anthony Peterson. A number of underrated names there as well, Romanov, Prescott, Funeka, Moses.

I feel Soto makes a few WBC 130 pound defenses, then finds his dance partner. I hope he finds his dance partner, gets in some great fight that warrants a rematch or trilogy (LIke Vazquez did.) Or KTFOs some pampered star.

 

I think Soto's career was handled badly after beating Juarez. He wins 2 or 3 WBC elims, and they put him in with a defensive boxer Guzman, for the WBO! If Soto gets the right fights, I'm sure he'll deliver.

If he could KO an exciting slugger like Guerrero, I think that'd be just about enough to secure some kind of big fight up at lightweight.