- 6 weeks ago
Cesar Soto takes on Carlos Rios in a Featherweight bout, from Tiajuana, Mexico on HBO Boxing After Dark
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
00:30The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports.
01:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports.
01:29In the main event, 122-pound champion Eric Morales fights in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico against the man with his back to the wall, American Junior Jones.
01:40First, at 126 pounds, Cesar Soto, hoping to become a featherweight force, takes on Carlos Rios of Argentina.
01:47We're at the Torreo de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico.
01:50It's a full ring, converted tonight for the sweet signs of boxing.
01:54Fans from both sides of the border have been cramming into this 14,000-seat arena as the afternoon has turned to evening to see how the best of their 122-pound fighters fares against one of the best from north of the border.
02:06A hot night in a border town, a touch of evil in the air as we're ready for the blood passion of Boxeo After Dark.
02:15And hello again, everybody. Welcome to this special edition of HBO's Boxing After Dark.
02:22They are thrilled here in Tijuana to see our HBO cameras on hand as we come to you from a bullring,
02:28a proper setting to continue tracking the up-and-down career of American Junior Jones,
02:33one of the better fighters of the 90s, but a man given to unexpected defeats.
02:37And after being knocked out in his last fight by Kennedy McKinney, Jones needs a win tonight.
02:43To stay at the top level of the sport, he could scarcely have picked a tougher assignment,
02:47taking on an unbeaten 23-year-old champion in his hometown of Tijuana in this extra-special setting in a bullring.
02:54It should be quite a night.
02:55That'll be the main event. We've got another fight first.
02:58Working with us, as always, HBO Boxing Analyst Larry Merchant.
03:01Larry, let's talk with you about the main event coming up, Morales against Jones.
03:05This is a thriving gambling town.
03:08Casinos in Tijuana offer bets of all kinds on American sports events and sports events around the globe.
03:13But for the last 48 hours, you couldn't put a bet on Morales Jones.
03:17What happened?
03:18It's a little mysterious, Jim.
03:20Morales is a two-to-one favorite, and instead of adjusting the odds upward or downward
03:25depending on how much money is bet on each fighter, it suddenly just disappears.
03:30They just dropped it like a hot tamale.
03:34The logic of this is that they couldn't find anybody in Tijuana to bet against their hometown hero, Morales.
03:42But there is a sexier theory, which is that the savvy boxing fans here know that Junior Jones is 34-0 against Mexican fighters.
03:53Why waste your hard-earned pesos on that kind of proposition?
03:59And that dovetails with a story which is unconfirmed that we have heard that an American savvy bettor came across the border
04:09and bet $100,000 on Junior Jones, which might better explain why this proposition just was suddenly dropped off the bat, out of the world.
04:22What it reminds us of, Jim, is that the real risk-takers are not the odds-makers, Jim.
04:28They are the fighters.
04:29As Junior Jones said, this is to win everything or to lose everything.
04:34All right, well, we'll see that later on tonight.
04:37But first, a 126-pound war between Carlos Rios of Argentina and Cesar Soto of Mexico.
04:43Here to talk with us about that one, world light heavyweight champion in ace field, boxing after dark expert Roy Jones.
04:49Roy, Cesar Soto against Carlos Rios.
04:51Both guys love to come forward.
04:53Two bulls in a bull ring, both of them hard punchers.
04:56What makes the difference in a fight like this?
04:58Well, what really will ultimately make the difference is the fighter who wants to win the worst.
05:02Both of these are top-ranked fighters.
05:04Both of them are very strong.
05:06Both of them love to hit, and they love to get hit.
05:08So the guy with the biggest will, with the most determination to win the fight, will be victorious tonight.
05:14Could be a prototype boxing after dark fight.
05:16You've seen the kind of excitement we've shown you here in the past.
05:19Closer look at Cesar Soto of Mexico.
05:22This young man turned pro, believe it or not, at the age of 13.
05:26By the time he was 18, he had 27 fights.
05:29Never been knocked down or cut.
05:32And Carlos Rios is from the cattle country, Santa Fe, Argentina.
05:38Closer look at him.
05:40He had one other fight outside of the country, lost to Luisito Espinosa, who holds a belt just as his opponent lost to him, as Soto did.
05:48And for both fighters, what's at stake is a possible title shot in the next fight down the road.
05:57Both have lost to reigning champion Luisito Espinosa in Espinosa's home country, the Philippines.
06:03We take a look at the tail of the tape for Cesar Soto and Carlos Rios.
06:09And you will see that they're similar in age.
06:14A three-inch height advantage for Soto of Mexico.
06:16They weighed in close to the 126-pound limit.
06:19Tonight, Rios, the Argentine, appears to have had a couple of big stakes on his way to the ring.
06:24He's gained 18 pounds since the weigh-in.
06:26Rules of the bout with Harold Lederman.
06:27The Cesar Soto-Carlos Rios fight is scheduled for 10 rounds using the rules of the Tijuana Boxing and Wrestling Commission.
06:35There is no standing age count.
06:37The three-knockdown rule is in effect.
06:39Only the referee can stop the fight, and he can be saved by the belt in the tenth and final round only.
06:44Jim.
06:45And our ring announcer for official introductions is Danny Valdivia.
06:48From El Toreo de Tijuana in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Bob Arum's Top Rank Incorporated, HBO, and Cerveza Corona present HBO Boxing After Dark, professional boxing at its finest.
07:09This is our special event of the evening, Featherweight Ten Round.
07:14Esta es la pelea estelar especial de la noche, Pesto Pluma, Diez Asaltos.
07:21The judges, Los Jueces, Alex Rochin, Ray Solis, Enrique Sotelo, referee in charge, Juan José Ramírez.
07:32In the blue corner to my right, wearing white and blue trunks, with a professional record of 43 wins, one loss, one draw, 29 wins by knockout.
07:43En la esquina azul con 43 victorias, una perdida, un empate, 29 de sus victorias por knockout.
07:51He weighed in at 126, cesando 126 libras, ranked number five by the WBC from Santa Fe, Argentina, Carlos Río.
08:04In the red corner, wearing black trunks, he comes into the ring with a professional record, seven losses, two draws, 39 wins by knockout.
08:19En la esquina roja con 51 victorias, siete perdidas, dos empates, 39 de sus victorias por knockout.
08:28He weighed 125 pounds, cesando 125 libras, ranked number one featherweight contender in the world by the WBC from Ciudad Juárez, México.
08:41Here we are in a blue ring gym.
09:10And instead of a bull and a bullfighter, we have two bulls.
09:16What a concept.
09:21Both men looking for another shot at a featherweight world championship.
09:27Veterans of the sport.
09:28Between them, 115 fights coming in.
09:37And immediately they engage in close contact, and that should be the way it is most of the way.
09:42And this is going to get ugly.
09:56Rios has come out, the aggressor, and Soto is trying to find his opportunities to throw shots.
10:03He's landed cleanly a couple of times, countering inside.
10:05There is a little bit of blood, I think, on the left cheekbone, or the right cheekbone, of Soto, not Dangerous.
10:17This is going to be a tough job for referee Juan Jose Ramirez.
10:31Yes, it is.
10:31So these guys are looking to bang and bang for you.
10:36Soto knocked off balance by a Rios shot.
10:39You can see that Rios isn't big on defending himself.
10:46He figures the best defense is a good offense, and he throws a lot of punches.
10:50And a lot of big punches.
10:55Oh, good combination by Soto.
10:59And the uppercut snapped Rios' head back.
11:01Body shot landed.
11:03Plus against the ribcage.
11:04Oh, my goodness.
11:18Well, we call this a bullfight, Jim, but Rory and I went to talk fight today.
11:24Rory introduced me to the world of talk fighting, and this is more like that.
11:28These guys had feathers on them.
11:30The feathers would be flying everywhere.
11:32Real visit to the cockpites south of the border, huh?
11:37Yeah, and I love it.
11:40Both Rory and Larry campaigning for spots on the EDA board of directors.
11:47No such luck.
11:48We have the excellent Ray Torres interpreting in both corners tonight, and these should be
12:04some interesting conversations.
12:06I would definitely like to hear what he said in these points.
12:08Well, he only got hit 80 times in that round.
12:10Can you go out and get hit 100 times in the next round?
12:13I think Rios got hurt here by that over here at right.
12:16A little wobbly.
12:23Rios has landed more punches in the round by virtue of his nonstop activity, but I think
12:28Soto landed the harder shot.
12:30All right, you did very well.
12:43We've got to throw in the middle.
12:48You've got to throw that jab and come in the middle.
12:52Don't go winging him from the outside.
12:55Everything's got to be straight from the middle.
13:05He hit you a lot of times and you didn't do nothing.
13:13Soto appears to be the calmer fighter, more in control of what he's doing.
13:19Rios, the more active fighter at the moment.
13:22He's fighting like he knows that he's going to have a very hard time getting a decision
13:33here in Tijuana.
13:39Soto fighting in the border town at Tijuana tonight and getting huge crowd support.
13:44He's from the Texas border town at Juarez.
13:47Together they landed 55 total punches by CompuBox members in the first round.
14:03Only 10 of them were dead.
14:05I'll be surprised if somebody doesn't get cut by a headbutt the way these guys are going
14:09at each other.
14:10I thought maybe Rios had at the end of the first round.
14:12He was squinting and seemed to have felt as though he'd been butted.
14:16The styles are right there head to head.
14:17They can't help but the last time or later.
14:19Rios is trying to be a little bit more tactical at the moment.
14:31Come on, come on, come on.
14:32Did we figure out yesterday, Larry, that Cesar Soto had his first professional fight when
14:36he was 13 years old?
14:38Right.
14:39Exactly right.
14:40A year after he walked into a gym.
14:41He's been fighting exactly half of his life as a professional fighter and he's 26.
14:49They threw him into the pool and say swim.
14:59Hard right hand by Cesar Soto as he backs Rios up into the rope.
15:06Rios looking to land something up.
15:08Now he moves away.
15:10I think Soto is hurting you.
15:11Every time he hits him, I think he's hurting you.
15:14Soto puts a lot into his punches.
15:25Tell you what, at 13 years old, I definitely wouldn't have been thinking about being a professional
15:30fighter.
15:31I was a pretty good amateur and I probably would have been a pretty good professional, but
15:35that had never crossed my mind.
15:38Well, both of these fighters come from the hard-bitten background that so frequently produces
15:44boxers in their culture and other cultures.
15:48When I asked Carlos Rios yesterday, family he grew up in, I said, Bolbre, Medio, Rico.
15:54He said, Bolbre, Bolbre, double four.
15:59We asked him how much he made in that first fight at the age of 13.
16:02He said, enough to buy a pack of chewing gum.
16:04But it wasn't all in vain because it's the way he is now.
16:13Getting a chance to showcase himself on HBO's Boxing After Dark because of the appealing action style that both fighters bring to this fight.
16:24Soto landing a long right hand across the top, Rios smiles as if to say, you ain't got nothing.
16:31Let's take a look at the top fighters in the 126-pound weight class.
16:38That's the featherweight division.
16:39Larry Merchant, who do we have?
16:41Well, the World's League to Prince Hamed, the big moneymaker in this division.
16:46The two top Americans, Fred Norwood, undefeated, holds the belt.
16:51And Derek Gaynor, Roy's buddy.
16:57A crowded weight class, as is the 122-pound class, as is the 130-pound class, and virtually everybody looking to get a taste of that Prince Nassim money.
17:07Don't grab him, change punches with him.
17:21Cesar Soto accelerated the activity level in the second round and now has thrown more and landed more punches than Rios through two rounds.
17:51Carlos Rios told us in the fighter meetings that he felt his first task was to take away Cesar Soto's left hook.
18:00So he's keeping that right hand pinned to his cheek, even while he looks for opportunities to be aggressive.
18:06See, Rios holding the right hand right next to his cheek there.
18:14He's also opening himself up for that left uppercut.
18:17And I think Soto's calling him a couple of times to come up the middle, but I just don't think he's been successful without doing it yet.
18:40These guys are big for featherweight.
18:43Very strong for featherweight.
18:44Rios whacking away at both flanks of Soto's upper body, trying to take something out of Soto's arms and shoulders as he just pounds away at the available target.
19:05A good body combination by Cesar Soto inside.
19:08Excellent body work by Soto.
19:14Rios appears to be beating him to the punch, though, Roy.
19:21He's more willing to throw.
19:24Hard left hook by Soto as Rios dropped that right hand momentarily and Soto found the target.
19:30When you throw, you can also catch.
19:34I think Rios's corner told him to trade punches.
19:38Don't hold him.
19:39Trade punches with him.
19:40They think he's the bigger and the stronger punch of the two, so they want him to trade punches with Soto's not to tie up.
19:47And he's going out and putting the punching out first, so I think he's getting in front of Soto a little bit.
19:51And remember, Rios is the guy who weighed in at 126 and then put on 18 pounds before coming into the ring tonight.
19:57That's 14% of his body weight.
19:59That's 14.
20:04Entered the body within the last 24 hours.
20:06Incredible.
20:29Roud rising for Soto at the end of the third round.
20:46And still to come, main event between that man, Eric Morales.
20:51Just turned 23, fighting in his hometown tonight
20:54before a rabid crowd.
20:57Correo de Quijuana
20:57against Junior Jones, who threw most of the 90s,
21:01has been one of the best,
21:03is not the best of the 122-pound fighters.
21:16Ending around, Soto landed his most effective punch of the round.
21:22That's the reason why Rios has been keeping the right glove pinned to his cheek,
21:29because he wants to try to nullify that left hook.
21:32In round three, Rios released 74 punches, Soto only 59.
21:36The fighter who beat both of these fighters here tonight in their eclectic
21:44was Luisita Espinosa, who holds one of the belts
21:48and who is a boxer, counterpuncher-type fighter.
21:52You could see why he could beat these fellas.
21:54Harold, how'd you have it through the first three?
21:57Jim, I got a 29-28, two rounds to one.
22:00I thought that Carlos Rios didn't do enough in round three to win a round barely,
22:05but I want to say something, Jim.
22:07Watch Jesus, Soto, throw that left hook to the body.
22:09I'm telling you, 50% of them are going low,
22:12and a referee hasn't said a word.
22:13He's watching Rios low, so badly, it's just terrible.
22:17But then again, Rios is just guilty,
22:19because he's grabbing and holding terribly also.
22:21Oh, and also, Rios has his trunks very high, if you notice.
22:24You're right, Larry, he does have those trunks high,
22:26but watch with that left hook for him.
22:28Solid right hand counter by Cesar Soto, and Rios goes down.
22:33You look for the left, you get the right.
22:37A lot of time left in this round.
22:45Neither fighter a stranger to the canvas.
22:47Rios has gotten up the win before,
22:49and he's in big trouble here.
22:51He won't get out of this either.
22:55And the problem he has is that he's such a big person
22:58that the best time to hit him is when he's trying to push back.
23:14Soto using his strength to drive Rios back into the rope.
23:18Body attack from Soto.
23:21Rios looking to counter.
23:24Soto just misses with a big left hook.
23:29One more shot and Soto will be out of there.
23:32You mean Rios to be out of there?
23:33I mean Rios, yeah.
23:34Rios, yeah.
23:35Well, Soto will be out of there, too.
23:36Yeah.
23:37But carried out.
23:38In the arms of his beloved, or his loving admirer.
23:42He's doing a good job of tying up, though, Rios here.
23:45Yep.
23:45Rios showed some professionalism here.
23:47Got to give him credit.
23:48And Soto has shown professionalism,
23:50because he hasn't exactly gone wild and tried to
23:52throw everything but the kitchen sink to get a finish.
23:56He understands that he's fighting against a guy
23:58who's accustomed to recovering from knockdowns.
24:01That's right.
24:01And another thing is that he knows if he hit him once,
24:03haven't hurt him, he can catch him again.
24:05He just had to set it up again.
24:06Rios was kind of pawing with the right and dropped
24:14the left hand, and Soto just fired the right hand
24:17over it perfectly.
24:17Good left hand by Rios.
24:20Good enough up to it.
24:21All right.
24:21Put up, put up.
24:26As if to say, I ain't dead yet.
24:27Good job of surviving by Carlos Rios.
24:49Let's give him water.
24:50He needs some water.
24:53He is dead.
24:54The opponent is dead.
24:55You've got to get to him.
24:57The patience that Soto has showed pays off right there.
25:11Waves through a flurry of fakes and punches
25:14to throw an overhand right.
25:18That would make a big league strikeout pitcher proud.
25:27He's also connected on 32 punches in round number four
25:37by CompuBox numbers, and 30 of those were power shots.
25:40So Carlos Rios has weathered a very tough round four as he comes back in to try to begin reversing
25:47the damage in round five.
25:49Comes from the part of the Argentine that produced the great middleweight Carlos Monzo.
25:57They know something about fighting in the Argentine that are usually very well schooled.
26:04The good ones are.
26:05Mike Soto, Rios took up boxing at 13 years old.
26:09He says that he can remember seeing Argentine great Monzo and Victor Galindos on television
26:15when he was a young man.
26:18Two outstanding fighters.
26:31Harold Letterman did indeed score the last round 10-8 for Cesar Soto, not 10-9.
26:36So on the left guard, Soto now with a three-point working margin.
26:53Rios seems to be fighting a little bit more caution now.
26:56He's not just jumping in, throwing the big punches carefree anymore.
27:00Does Rios have a cut above the left eye, or is that a scar from an old cut?
27:04I think that's a scar from an old cut, because it's a starting round one, I think.
27:08In the end of the game, it could have been opened up by now.
27:10Stopping right hand from Soto after a little left hook in there.
27:13It looks like an abrasion.
27:16Soto's starting to get more opportunities as Rios' pace flows.
27:23And those body shots that Soto's control are probably the reason that Rios is slowing.
27:28There's an abrasion high on the forehead above Rios' left eye,
27:37but then there's also a line directly in the eyebrow.
27:41It may or may not be a scar from a previous cut.
27:45I don't think it's a cut tonight, because we've seen no blood.
27:50I'd like to see fighters make adjustments in fights.
27:52But what Rios is doing now, if he knows that Soto beat him to the point with the right hand last time,
27:58so now he's throwing it quicker so he doesn't get caught while he's throwing it.
28:04He's trying to not telegraph it.
28:06He's getting caught with it a few times more than he had earlier in the fight.
28:33So, stick with us between fights tonight.
28:37We'll have a live interview with Oscar Delooya and Julio Cesar Chavez,
28:41looking ahead to their pay-per-view meeting in Vegas next week.
28:58How do you feel?
29:00What's going on?
29:01everything's okay you've got to keep throwing a straight right hand it was successful do it again
29:16and make sure you go low and hit that to the to the liver that's a good punch to the body and
29:22deliver all that happened in the last round is we all got three minutes older
29:43so glad you pointed it out larry
29:45well now with the wisdom and maturity we've gained from that we look into round six for further
29:57enlightenment and the crowd will give rios the business for that one
30:05it appears soto is winning the fight certainly but i get the impression still rios is
30:16out hustling him for long periods of the round like that yep he is
30:28called a flip by referee juan jose danitas and they go back to work
30:35and they don't mind trading here i have to admit well i think this is better than a cockfight
31:02i think so too
31:07still campaigning for a spot on the pita board
31:16so tonight already you have larry merchants inspired defense of prize fighting it's better than a
31:36So tonight, already, you have Larry Merchant's inspired defense of prize fighting.
31:43It's better than prize fighting.
31:46Body shot.
31:47That should have been a knockdown.
31:48That hit should have been a knockdown.
31:51I think his knee shot.
31:53He's had the glove on the canvas and the knee on the canvas.
31:56I think he will.
31:57In this round.
31:58But no knockdown yet for Soto here, although he did have a knockdown in round four.
32:03Straight right hand lands for Soto.
32:16Rio shakes it off and keeps firing.
32:18His telegrams in right hand so bad, Jim, it's hard to breathe.
32:45It's the one that he'll ever hear so-so-suita rahim.
32:49He's determined to keep trying.
32:57Probably figuring, well, it works in Argentina.
33:03It is a very slippery rain surface.
33:08Producer David Harmon tells us from the truck
33:11that that round lasted three and a half minutes.
33:17And made us all three and a half minutes younger
33:19because it was a good round.
33:23Well, we're 30 seconds ahead.
33:29Ana Maria Carrasco from Manhattan Beach, California.
33:32If you were watching the debut edition of HBO's Boxing After Dark,
33:36February 3, 1996 in the Forum,
33:38unbelievable fight between Kennedy McKinney
33:41and Marco Antonio Barrera.
33:42You'll never forget Ana Maria Carrasco.
33:45She was there tonight.
33:46She's here again tonight.
33:48She's number one in the HBO Boxing After Dark
33:51round card girl ranking.
33:55Inspiring.
33:59Smile for smile.
34:00You know, I gotta tell you fellas, on my card,
34:12which may be totally off,
34:14this is a very close fight.
34:15I think Rios has out hustled Soto in several rounds.
34:22Soto landed the bigger punching.
34:24I don't know that he's gonna get the benefit of that doubt in Tijuana.
34:30I'm sure he won't.
34:31I'll give you Larry, except that I think it's the last round
34:34that punch would have been called a knockdown,
34:36he'd be a little bit more ahead Soto with him.
34:38Yeah.
34:39But I agree he didn't make a call knockdown,
34:40so I think the fight is supposed to be in the real soon.
34:42Well, Harold Letterman didn't go to the cock fights today.
34:44He's been concentrating on boxing.
34:46How do you have it scored through six, Harold?
34:48Then 58, 55, four rounds to two, Jesus Soto.
34:52I mean, by points, you gotta give Soto an extra point
34:56in round four for that knockdown.
34:58And if I have him two rounds ahead,
34:59that certainly has him with a three-point lead.
35:01Jesus Soto's doing the harder punching.
35:03Carlos Rios is really guilty of an awful lot of holding.
35:06The referee's been watching him, but he hasn't taken a point yet.
35:09But you see right there, Carlos Rios has got him,
35:12he's yakking his arm, that's holding.
35:14Jim, there's a fine line between tying a guy up and holding a guy.
35:18Rios is holding.
35:20And it's very slippery in that corner of the ring
35:23as Rios nearly went down toward the end of the last round,
35:26almost goes down again.
35:28Referee says, that's okay, keep fighting.
35:30CompuBox numbers through round six,
35:32showed Soto throwing 354 punches, Soto, and Rios 357.
35:38So they're both putting out a similar level of activity.
35:42I have Soto ahead by one point because of the knockdown.
35:55To go on what Harold said about the holding,
35:57I feel like in prize fighting, if it works for you, do it.
36:00The referee is not directing a point from him.
36:02When you hold Soto, Soto does not punch.
36:04So that is enabling him to stay in this fight.
36:06So if I were him and the referee is not causing a particular hold,
36:09or he's not saying he's going to take a point,
36:11I will continue to hold.
36:13Larry, the three judges incidentally,
36:17Alex Roisin, Ray Solis, Enrique Sotelo, all from Tijuana.
36:22Do we surmise from that that the Argentine fighter
36:26has an uphill battle trying to win a decision here?
36:29No one's going to move.
36:30Oh!
36:31Oh, mountain.
36:32Oh!
36:33Oh, oh!
36:34Oh!
36:35Oh, oh...
36:37Oh!
36:38Oh, oh!
36:39Oh!
36:40Oh!
36:41Oh!
36:42Oh!
36:43Oh!
36:45Oh!
36:46Oh!
36:47Oh!
36:48Oh, oh!
36:49Oh!
36:50Oh!
36:51Oh!
36:52Which may explain why he keeps throwing his right hand despite all the incoming.
37:05You're exactly right.
37:06He knows what the score is here.
37:09That's right.
37:10And he's making the fight here.
37:19And still to come, the main event between Junior Jones of New York, New York, and Eric Morales, hometown star Tijuana.
37:29Jones trying once again to keep his career alive at the top level of the sport.
37:34He must win the night to do so.
37:36After his upset loss via fourth round knockout, Kenny McKinney in New York last December in his last time in the ring.
37:44He must be reading my scorecard.
37:54He must be reading my scorecard.
38:07But I'm not come to you on it.
38:10Not yet.
38:11Happy to be here.
38:12Yeah, I think you could become an adopted citizen.
38:14You've made such a dent in the social scene.
38:16Having gone today to a big public event with Roy Jones and Cove.
38:22Nobody there knew or cared who Roy Jones was.
38:32And that's the best thing about it.
38:35You can go down and enjoy yourself and have a good time no matter who you are.
38:40You want to see a fighter who commits to his punches.
38:55Cesar Soto is that man.
38:57You want to see two fighters who commit to their punches.
39:00Yep.
39:01The thing of beauty is not.
39:08Roy, you said before the fight that courage and will would be the decisive factor.
39:14I don't see that either fighter has more in that department.
39:18So what is the decisive factor up to now in your view?
39:21Well, right now, it is courage and will because Soto has to have a lot of courage to be here fighting.
39:28Not Soto.
39:29Rios has to have a lot of courage to, first of all, be here fighting in these conditions.
39:32You know he's fighting enough here in battle.
39:34He's been knocked out already.
39:35He fell behind early.
39:37And he's still showing the most courage.
39:39He's still making the fight.
39:40And he's still being the aggressor.
39:42So he's definitely showing the courage.
39:43Now he may not get the decision, but he seems to be stronger in that department.
39:47And if it were his own skills, I think Soto X himself has a better skill.
39:50Yeah, Soto has the more measured style.
39:54He's a more accurate puncher.
39:56What he's saying is that if we were in Santa Fe, Argentina, which is Rios' hometown.
40:02We have, the cow would be deeper into the fight because he's stood out behind.
40:06And he's the only way to come back, hopefully pulling off a victory.
40:09That's a victory out of the dog of the team.
40:13Man of a cockfighting association readying an invitation for you two guys right now.
40:18Starter flights available.
40:20I'll tell you what.
40:21I'll be there.
40:22You meet beautiful people at places like that, Phil.
40:27Roy Jones.
40:28Yeah.
40:29These are people sometimes that can't afford a racehorse, can't afford race cars.
40:33They can't afford to buy things that are so expensive to show their competitiveness.
40:37Every man has a level of competitiveness in him somewhere.
40:40You could afford all those things, but you've still chosen to own fighting cocks instead.
40:44These have been because they kept me out of trouble.
40:46They kept me out of drugs.
40:47They kept me out of games.
40:48They kept me out of everything when I was coming up as a kid.
40:50So why should I go away from them now?
40:52We're all grateful for that, Roy.
40:53That's a good one.
40:54That's a good one.
40:55The world may not know Roy Jones Jr. had not been for my top.
41:05And I think Rios won another round.
41:13Rios won another round too.
41:20Fascinating fight.
41:22We won this round.
41:27If you keep going forward, we will win.
41:32We've got to win this fight.
41:34We're about to win.
41:36If you're tired, he is double tired.
41:47And he says, twice as tired as you are.
41:50Don't get over-excited.
41:55And don't get over-excited because he's going to hold you.
41:58You've got to throw that right hand.
42:00And then when you go low, hit him with the left hook.
42:05You're coming back for more.
42:15And so are we.
42:19Rios stunned by a Soto left hook as round nine begins.
42:24Bout is scheduled for ten.
42:26Soto with a right hand.
42:30Graves the cheek of Rios.
42:32Lezar Soto seems to have decided that round nine would be an excellent frame in which
42:39to attempt to knock his man out.
43:02I think Soto realizes that Hustle has gotten Rios back in his fight, and now he's trying
43:16to come out and out-hustle Rios a little bit.
43:26Right there?
43:27Yeah, go ahead.
43:28Right there, you see every time Rios leaves with punches and holds, he throws punches,
43:31he layers punches, and he does not get hit in the process.
43:37But when he waits and gives Soto a chance to lead, he takes punishment.
43:41He catches it.
43:42Because he has no head movement, he doesn't block punches with his gloves, he's just there.
43:47He doesn't walk through either.
43:54And no longer is he keeping that right glove pinned to his cheek as he was in the first
43:58five or six rounds, but there should be more opportunities now to go to land his favorite
44:02punch, the left hook.
44:06And when you attack Soto first, he doesn't give Soto a chance to tip that punch up.
44:09Oh, good uppercut.
44:10Good uppercut.
44:11Yep.
44:12Right hand straight up through the middle by Soto.
44:13And Roy pointed out to you earlier that Soto's corner had asked him to go up the middle a few times.
44:25He hasn't done it all that much.
44:26This is why I think Rios is winning the fight now.
44:30Because see how he does that?
44:31He throws two or three punches to Soto's one.
44:32Unless Soto just knocks him down with the punch, then he swings your head.
44:36Rios holding Soto to a standstill again, as he's done frequently throughout the fight.
44:41Soto, after a flurry of activity to begin the round, has slowed down considerably in the last minute.
45:02We've talked about all the officials being from Tijuana in this fight, Jim.
45:07In the next fight, the championship fight, there are no judges from either Mexico or the United States.
45:32Real calm, real nicely, real smooth.
45:37That's what you've got to do.
45:39Real calm.
45:40And then get close to him.
45:48We're going to make history.
45:54Put your head close to him and exchange good punch.
46:02Don't get overexcited.
46:03You've got to be nice and calm.
46:05Let's go.
46:06Last of the scheduled ten rounds, Harold Lederman, how do you have it going into this final frame?
46:22Jim, 87, 83, six rounds to three, Jesus Soto.
46:26I mean, that's what Jesus Soto clearly went at ninth round, and I thought that definitely gave
46:31him at least a four-point lead.
46:32But that's interesting, Jim.
46:33To comment on what Larry said, the judges in Mexico in general do score a lot of even rounds.
46:38What happens is that at the end of the fight, you'll get a closer point with each guy having
46:44a high point total.
46:45In other words, 97, 96, 98, 96, stuff like that.
46:49Because if each guy's getting ten points in a lot of rounds, that's what happens.
46:53High numbers, close scores.
46:54Basketball fans would like it.
46:59I think Soto kind of finished the fight off in that last round, too.
47:06He landed 18 punches by CompuBox numbers, only four for Rios.
47:11Yeah, Rios is coming back, but I think that last round kind of spills the deal for Soto.
47:16Round 10 has begun more slowly than some of his predecessors.
47:23You know, aside from the punishment that both fighters, especially Rios, has taken, I find
47:31myself wondering, if Rios put on 18 pounds in the last 30 hours, how hard must it have been
47:40for him to get down to weight?
47:43And that may explain why he, also explain why he weakened as the fight goes on.
47:49Yeah, he had to weaken because if he put on that much weight, that means he really, really
47:53had a hard time making his weight.
47:55You don't put on that kind of weight unless you take that kind of weight off you first.
47:58Uh, I used to come in the ring fighting little weight at 174 pounds, but because I originally
48:03came from 180 to make little weight.
48:05So, he had to come from higher than 144 pounds to make 126, and that had to be difficult for
48:11him to accomplish and to fight a 10-round fight as hard as these two guys have been fighting.
48:16Oh, Rios lands a big right hand that backs Soto up into the rope, and momentarily Soto appeared
48:29to be done.
48:30Topping right hand over the top by Rios.
48:32Last-ditch rally by the Argentines.
48:34Let me tell you something, this kid has a heart.
48:39Soto appears unhurt now as he stares down at us, and waits for the action to resume.
48:45The heart is as big as the practice.
48:48What a tremendous rally.
48:49And he wants to win.
48:50Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
49:13The closing seconds of the bout, just like the opening seconds, they trade leather in a
49:18phone booth on a hot night in Tijuana.
49:20Just a little touch of evil to get the evening started.
49:26And let's take a look at some of the big action from round 10 as Rios backs the
49:30game.
49:31Soto up.
49:32And let's take a look at some of the big action from round 10 as Rios backs Soto up.
49:36It seemed to momentarily stun Soto and send him off balance.
49:43I didn't think he was in serious trouble, but he was in some trouble.
49:50Harold, how'd you have it?
49:51Jim, you had to give Carlos Rios that 10th round for doing his Arturo daddy.
49:57But in any case, 96, 93, six rounds to four for the hometown guys, Cesar Soto.
49:58I certainly think he landed the clean, hard, effective shot.
49:59I certainly think he landed the clean, hard, effective shot.
50:00I certainly think he landed the clean, hard, effective shot.
50:01I think he was in some trouble, but he was in some trouble.
50:04But he was in some trouble.
50:05Harold, how'd you have it?
50:06Jim, you had to give Carlos Rios that 10th round for doing his Arturo daddy.
50:11But in any case, 96, 93, six rounds to four for the hometown guys, Cesar Soto.
50:17I certainly think he landed the clean, hard, effective shot.
50:18Certainly enough of him to win this fight.
50:19You've got to give him that 10-8 in round four.
50:20So that throws him an extra point.
50:21But Jim, watch for the high numbers.
50:22You've got to give him that 10-8 in round four.
50:23So that throws him an extra point.
50:24But Jim, watch for the high numbers.
50:25You've got to give him that 10-8 in round four.
50:30So that throws him an extra point.
50:31But Jim, watch for the high numbers.
50:33With a close score.
50:34Because that's how they score in New Mexico.
50:36A lot of even rounds.
50:37Home country guy, Harold.
50:39Not hometown guy.
50:40Remember, he's from Juarez.
50:42Not from here in Tijuana.
50:44In the next fight, there's a hometown guy.
50:50All right, let's go to Danny Valdivia in the ring for the official numbers on this one.
51:03I will read the score cards.
51:04I will read the score cards.
51:05I will read the score cards.
51:08Revisando la puntacion de los jueces.
51:10George Enrique Sotelo and Raymond Solis scored about 90.
51:15Correction.
51:16Alejandro Rochin and Raymundo Solis scored about 96-93.
51:21Both of them.
51:22George Enrique Sotelo scored about 98-92.
51:23All in favor of the winner by unanimous decision, Cesar Soto.
51:37The victory for Soto puts him in line for a possible second chance against Luisito Espinosa of the Philippines.
52:04And that fight may not take place if it happens in Manila where Soto last fought against Espinosa before 300,000 fans rooting for the Philippine fighter.
52:14Because the economic crisis in the Philippines were told that Espinosa is likely to be fighting in the United States sometime soon.
52:21Maybe Cesar Soto will be coming north of the border to meet him there.
52:24Right now, we've got an opportunity to talk live with the two combatants you'll be seeing via pay-per-view next Friday night in Las Vegas.
52:31Oscar De La Hoya meeting Julio Cesar Chavez for the second time in their careers.
52:37You'll recall that De La Hoya got a fourth round technical...
52:39Of course in as high school at
52:40그 have a fourth round technical...
52:41In the 90s 만 phase in his getting up for three minutes.
52:42Of course in属ята is on camera because Dr. Seamus, you Najib.
52:43You feel like Neil Stần 하고 a secretary?
52:44Is it four critical hours?
52:45For an MTG?
52:46You feel like we're being with a double recognize and we're in secret for two Maar бизнес from
52:48East towards accounting for three minutes.
52:49If you just send it to the two blocks around tackling things
52:50More easily, you have a very little bit of a ballmare to the balance but are not clasad acting like
52:52that's different.
52:53And I couldn't do any other cases of things that are only going to show up for three minutes.
52:55And instead of indoor two ahead's will thank you
52:56Sheas, you can bring people to the Left lunches in his car,
Recommended
5:34
|
Up next
1:28:15
1:36:09
1:27:08
1:21:08
1:04:52
48:40
33:04
40:08
1:20:37
1:09:41
1:05:53
1:22:43
7:40
Be the first to comment