The night was supposed to belong to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but instead it was a Humberto Soto victory over Urbano Antillon that fittingly and deservedly took center stage as the main event Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Soto (54-7-2, 32 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico managed to hold onto his WBC Lightweight title by engaging enough and avoiding just enough over twelve rounds with the hard-charging Antillon (28-2, 20 KOs) of Maywood, California by way of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Antillon, 135, took the fight to Soto, 134¾, at the outset and the defending champion obliged. The tone of the fight was set right then, and very rarely deviated from a toe-to-toe battle. Antillon, the WBC #6 ranked lightweight, was the aggressor throughout the entire fight and had Soto in trouble at times, but it was the champion’s ability to box when needed that won him the fight. Soto was also the busier and more effective puncher, which helped give him the edge.
In the end, it was a sixth-round point deduction by referee Ray Corona from Antillon for low blows that cost the challenger a draw. Incredibly there were no knockdowns in the fight, as both men were hurt and in trouble several times. The final scores read 115-112 and 114-113 twice, all for Soto to give him the unanimous decision win.
The original plan as outlined by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would have had the Soto-Antillon winner take on lightweight prospect Brandon Rios in February. However, the nature of tonight’s fight would seem to preclude Soto from competing that soon, something Arum acknowledged after the fight. During the post-fight interviews, Arum suggested that Antillon take on reigning IBF Lightweight Champion Miguel Vazquez on the same card as Soto-Rios, whenever that does take place, and that the winners eventually meet.
In the co-main event, former two-division titleholder Nonito Donaire Jr. (25-1, 17 KOs) of San Carlos, California announced his presence at 118-pounds with a comprehensive four-round destruction of former WBA Bantamweight Champion Wladimir Sidorenko (22-3-2, 7 KOs) of Kiev, Ukraine.
Donaire, 118, was too much for Sidorenko, 117 ½, from round one. Donaire displayed both speed and power against a fighter that looked much smaller than him, even though he had been a bantamweight for most of his career. Donaire scored knockdowns in the first, third and fourth. Sidorenko was bloodied early on and had his nose completely busted by the right hand that put him down for the final time. Official time of the stoppage was 1:48 of round four.
With the victory, Donaire claimed the WBC Continental Americas Bantamweight title and more importantly stayed on track for a clash with unified 118-pound belt holder Fernando Montiel, scheduled to take place on February 19th on HBO. Montiel must first get past unheralded Eduardo Garcia next Saturday in Mexico.
IBF #1 ranked featherweight Miguel Angel Garcia (24-0, 20 KOs) of Oxnard, California maintained his standing amongst the upper echelon at 126-pounds with a fifth-round knockout over Olivier Lontchi (18-2-2, 8 KOs) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Garcia, 123¼, downed a hurt Lontchi, 125 ½, with a right hand in the fifth. Lontchi sat on the seat of his trunks, seemingly debating his participation in the remainder of the bout. After getting up, Lontchi was downed again by a Garcia flurry. Referee Jerry Cantu counted Lontchi out as the Canadian shook his head to signal that he had had enough. Official time of the stoppage was 1:30. With the win, Garcia remains in line for an eventual shot at IBF/WBA Featherweight Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Pawel Wolak (28-1, 18 KOs) of Mount Arlington, New Jersey by way of Debica, Poland overcame a terrible start to score a seventh-round stoppage over Jose Pinzon (18-2-1, 12 KOs) of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Wolak, 161 ½, was downed in the second and nearly out, before turning around the round and the fight before the three minutes were up. Pinzon, 159, seemed drained by the end of the second and never found himself in control again. The much shorter Wolak, who had been signed for tonight’s main event against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., pressed the fight from the third round on. Finally the fifth, Pinzon was stopped on his feet while taking a serious barrage of unanswered punches. Official time of the bout was 2:24 of the seventh.
Undefeated Jessie Roman (5-0, 3 KOs) of Santa Ana, California turned back the tough challenge of Johnny Frazier (2-4-3, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada via four-round unanimous decision. Despite lopsided final tallies, Frazier, 132 ½, was very much in the fight. However it was Roman, 133 ½, that won over the judges with his aggression. In the end, Roman took all three cards by the scores of 39-37 and 40-36 twice.
Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.
