Soto-Karass Sorely-Harassed In Las Vegas

By Roy Marquez
Photos: Marlene Marquez

Sometimes boxing is a sweet science; sometimes it is simply a pain exchange. In a brutal back and forth affair Jesus Soto-Karass stopped David Estrada at 1:03 of the eighth round before a raucous full house at the Hard Rock Hotel. Though both fighters entered the ring with 26 bouts on their ledger, in the early goings it appeared the technical proficiency of Soto-Karass would carry the day.

Soto-Karass used an effective jab and a sharp right to win rounds one and two. In the third Estrada picked up the pace. Soto-Karass had difficulty with the pressure and was forced into toe-to-toe exchanges. The fight now favored the free swinging Estrada who went on to win the third and fourth rounds.

When the pace slowed, as it did in the fifth, Soto-Karass dictated the action. When Estrada pressed, as he did in the seventh, he controlled the fight. The sixth was a three minute slug fest that brought the crowd to their collective feet.

A minute into the eighth Soto-Karass unleashed a violent left hook that wobbled Estrada. Soto-Karass followed with a flurry that sent Estrada to the canvas. Estrada rose quickly and appeared clear but was not allowed to continue.

At the time of the stoppage Soto-Karass was ahead on all three scorecards: 67-66, 67-66 & 69-64.
 

The accurate hands of super flyweight Leo Santa-Cruz touched Gino Escamilla relentlessly over six rounds on route to a 60-54, 58-56, 59-55 unanimous decision victory. Escamilla (5-3-1) pressed the action but was continually thwarted by the effective combination punching of the long-armed S anta-Cruz.

After head hunting for the first four rounds, Santa-Cruz turned his focus to Escamilla’s body in the fifth. The body work paid off as Santa-Cruz pummeled a tired Escamilla to close the show.

With the win Santa-Cruz improved to six wins with a draw in seven bouts.
 

In a difficult matchup for journeyman Sandro Marcos (29-19-2), undefeated Brandon Rios scored an impressive TKO victory for his seventeenth win. Marcos was game but was demonstrably undersized in this super featherweight bout. Rios (18-0) used his entire arsenal of punches to drop Marcos four times in less than two full rounds of action. Marcos went down in the first from a Rios left hook to the chin. The knockdowns continued in the second beginning with a right to the body for knock down number two.

A Rios right-cross scored the third knockdown of the fight. When Marcos went down a fourth time his corner advised referee Toby Gibson to stop the fight. The end20came at 2:13 of the second.
 

Entering the ring for just the third time as a professional, featherweight Abraham Lopez proved too skillful for Cuauhtémoc Mendoza (4-9-1).

Lopez had Mendoza in peril in the third behind a flurry of uppercuts and hooks.

Lopez registered his third victory with the unanimous decision win.