By Jason Kim: World Boxing Council super featherweight champion Humberto Soto (48-7-2, 31 KOs) defeated his Canadian challenger Benoit Gaudet (20-2, 7 KOs) by a 9th round stoppage on the Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao undercard Saturday night at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gaudet, 29, was giving Soto all kinds of problems with his speed, movement and combinations up until the 9th round, when Soto caught Gaudet with a big right uppercut sending the Canadian down on the Canvas.

Gaudet got up, but was with two big right hands that sent Gaudet into the ropes where he hung briefly with his right glove before sinking down on the canvas.

Referee Jay Nady then stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:25 of the round. Gaudet probably could have gotten up and continued fighting, but Soto would have likely destroyed him in the remainder of the round.

After getting dropped by Soto in the first, Gaudet fought effectively, moving often and throwing quick flurries to keep Soto off balance. Used to having an opponent that is standing in front of him, Soto seemed clearly bothered by the constant movement from Gaudet and didn’t know how to adapt to his style. Soto’s hooks and right hands were ineffective against Gaudet because of his movement.

In the mean time, Gaudet began to land more and more as the rounds progressed, and seemed to be winning a lot of them with his quick flurries. Gaudet had no power, even when he wasn’t moving, and couldn’t hurt Soto or land anywhere near as hard as the Mexican fighter was throwing.

In the end, however, Soto eventually caught up to Gaudet in the 9th when the Canadian stayed in front of Soto for a bit too long and was nailed by a big right uppercut and dropped. Although Gaudet, ranked number #9 in the WBC, ended up losing the fight he showed a lot of ability and I could see him beating many of the top super featherweights in the division.