By Manuel Perez: A fight that has escaped the radar of many boxing fans this weekend is the super featherweight rematch between Humberto Soto (44-7-2, 28 KOs) and Francisco Lorenzo (33-4, 14 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight title at the Cozumel, in Quintana Roo, Mexico. The two fighters previously met six months ago in a fight that ended with controversy as Soto, 28, was disqualified by referee Joe Cortez in the 4th round after landing a glancing left hand shot that landed to the top of his Lorenzo’s melon, who had just gone down on his own moments before without even taking a punch.
Referee Joe Cortez then awarded the victory to Lorenzo, 37, even though it was clear that Soto’s right hand had barely nicked Lorenzo and could hardly be considered a late hit. Lorenzo stayed down on the canvas for what seemed like ages after the phantom knockdown, bleeding all over the place, and looking in horrible shape as Cortez tried to sort out the mess and render a decision.
Lorenzo had been pummeled for most of the fight, taking a lot of hard shots from Soto, mostly in the way of hard hooks and uppercuts to the head. The 4th round was especially savage, as Soto battered Lorenzo around the ring, knocking him down with a couple of hard uppercuts to the head. The punches did severe damage to Lorenzo’s face, breaking his nose and leaving it sideways on his face and cutting him badly over his right eye.
Lorenzo lay there bleeding on the canvas for what seemed like ages, before Cortez finally came to the decision, which would later cause considerable controversy, to award Lorenzo the victory by disqualification. However, in a bit of poetic justice, the WBC chose not to award Lorenzo the title due to the controversial ending of the fight, making it necessary for the two fighters to meet for a second fight to fight a real winner.
It’s highly doubtful that the outcome will end in Lorenzo’s favor this time around, because he was taking a severe beating in all four rounds of the fight last time around, and he just didn’t have the weapons to deal with Soto’s huge hooks and uppercuts. Lorenzo was getting pretty much pounded without stop last time out, so unless he suddenly has grown another six arms, I can’t see him being able to turn back Soto and get the win. Lorenzo is too slow, too old and too limited to handle Soto for long.
The fight may last a few a rounds, at best, but eventually Soto is going to grind Lorenzo to pieces and rip his head off with his power shots. Hopefully, this time out isn’t as bloody as the last fight, because that was a nasty thing to see, the sight of Lorenzo bleeding all over the place on the canvas while Cortez runs around the ring, looking befuddled, trying to come to a decision about the fight.