By Jake Donovan

Prior to his massive upset of Rocky Juarez in 2005, Humberto Soto had spent his entire career toiling in obscurity. He’s only lost twice since that night, but his climb to the top of the junior lightweight division remains a relatively anonymous journey.

The Mexican has taken great strides towards changing that status, a journey that continued with his ninth round knockout of Benoit Gaudet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The bout served as the chief support to the highly anticipated super lightweight world title fight between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao.

Soto threatened to end the night early, scoring a knockdown less than a minute into the round when Guadet was knocked off balance and to the canvas from a long left hook upstairs. The French-Canadian contender recovered, and spent the rest of the round playing keep away.

More movement was offered in rounds two and three, forcing Soto to pick up the pace and make a more concentrated effort to cut off the ring. The appearance given early on was that Soto came to fight, throwing every punch with vicious intentions, while Guadet came to box and move, avoiding contact while only offering punches in counter opportunities.

It turned out Guadet was merely waiting out the Mexican. The fight briefly changed gears in the middle rounds. Soto was still carrying the action, but Guadet stood his ground far more than at any other point in the fight, effective particularly to the body in the fourth round.

Efforts to carry over the momentum in the fifth resulted in mild success, with Soto uncharacteristically slowing down, but still landing heavily artillery at key moments.

Both fighters picked up the pace in the sixth, but you wouldn’t know it by the surprisingly silent capacity crowd, apparently preserving their energy for the main event. Guadet picked up his level of aggression, thus offering less movement in the process and allowing Soto to get off his power shots.

The same pattern carried over in the seventh, though was interrupted by an inadvertent low blow that forced Soto to all fours. The mishap didn’t slow down Guadet, though he would eventually prove to be too brave for his own good.

Soto enjoyed a solid eighth round, one where he was able to physically impose his will on Guadet for the first time in several rounds. It paved the way for a bruising ninth round, producing two more knockdowns and an eventual close to the fight.

A perfectly timed right uppercut floored Guadet midway through the ninth. He beat the count, but never quite rediscovered his legs, wisely clinching once action resumed but struggling to offer the same movement that kept him in the fight early on. Soto smelled blood and went in for the kill, unloading with shots upstairs, including a 1-2 and a final right hand to send him reeling. Referee Jay Nady sensed Guadet was done and intervened at the perfect time.

The official time was 2:25 of round nine.

Soto scores his fourth straight win as he improves overall to 48-7-2 (31KO). For years offered as bait in the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes, the hard-nosed Mexican is earning a reputation as the best junior lightweight in the world.

Guadet suffers the second loss of his career, both by knockout. An 11-fight win streak comes to a close as he falls to 20-2 (7KO) in just his third fight outside of his native Canada and his first in the states.

Promoter Bob Arum has come to appreciate what he has in his stable, keeping Soto increasingly busy as of late rather than simply use his name for purposes of bait-and-switch. The bout was his sixth in less than 14 months, with this fight coming just five weeks after a scintillating fourth round knockout of Antonio Davis in his native Mexico.

All Soto needs now is a worthwhile dance partner. Serving as the best in your division is one thing; allowing for the rest of the world to know is another matter entirely.

MIDDLEWEIGHT PROSPECTS FILL UP PRELIMINARY ACTION

The storyline going into the middleweight preliminary bout between Daniel Jacobs and Michael Walker was Jacobs accepting assignment after having fought just eight days prior. It was his ability to put away Jose Valera in less than six rounds (scoring a 2nd round knockout) that allowed him to step in for James Kirkland, whose out-of-the-ring brush with the law KO’d him from the pay-per-view undercard.

After eight rounds, Jacobs, who looked stellar throughout his young career, was made to look like a fighter who just fought eight days ago. The Brooklyn standout was forced to go the distance for just the second time in his career, but in the end pitched a shutout over the tough but limited Walker in their eight-round contest.

Jacobs unloaded on Walker in the opening round, coming dangerously close to forcing an early stoppage. Walker was in a defensive shell toward the end of the round, but was responsive enough to force referee Vic Drakulich to keep his distance for the time being.

Walker offered far more in the next two rounds, not necessarily winning them but letting Jacobs know not to expect an early night as has been the case against the past 15 creampuffs he’s previously faced.

The bout turned ugly in the third when Walker tossed Jacobs to the canvas, oddly enough after landing his best punches of the fight, a right hand and left hooker-cut on the inside. Time was halted as Jacobs’s protective cup was knocked out of position, requiring an adjustment.

It was all Jacobs from that moment on, though Walker never made it easy for the middleweight prospect. Despite the knockout to win ratios of each fighter, Walker proved to be the more heavy-handed puncher of the two. However, his aggression was little match for Jacobs’ superior workrate and overall skill level.

Final scores were 80-72 (twice) and 79-73 for Jacobs, who improves to 16-0 (14KO). It was just the second time in his career that he was forced to go more than four rounds in a fight. The eight round distance marks his longest fight to date.

Boasting an undefeated record going into 2008, Walker is now 1-2-1 in his last four contests as he dips to 19-2-2 (12KO) overall.

Bruising middleweight Matvey Korobov continues to mow ‘em down in the early stages of his career, racking up his fifth knockout in as many fights. The latest victim was Anthony Bartinelli, who sports model looks but was no match for Korobov’s straight lefts or his right hooks, succumbing in the second round of their scheduled four-round middleweight affair.

Korobov, a former world amateur standout and 2008 Russian Olympian, dominated the brief affair, landing an absurd 79% of his punches in the five-minute massacre. Bartinelli was game for a minute, but was no longer able to fend off the massive Korobov.

The bout’s lone knockdown came courtesy of a straight left hand midway through the second round. Referee Robert Byrd gave Bartinelli an eight count and subsequently every chance to get back into the fight. Korobov wasn’t inclined to grant his opponent such courtesies, battering Bartinelli in the corner until the third man stepped in to stop the contest.

The official time was 2:15 of round two.

Korobov improves to 5-0 (5KO) after having turned pro just six months ago. Bartinelli drops to 20-12-2 (13KO), losing his third straight and four of his last five.

Undefeated Cuban export Erislandy Lara opened up the telecast with a shutout over fleshy journeyman Chris Gray in their four-round junior middleweight tilt.

There were knockdowns in the fight; Gray was wobbled several times, but showed resiliency in remaining upright. He sacrificed his offense in the process, landing just 11 punches in four rounds, compared to 108 for Lara.

Scores were 40-36 across the board. Lara improves to 5-0 (3KO); Gray dips to 11-8 (1KO).

All of the PPV undercard bouts were presented by Top Rank Inc and Golden Boy Promotions.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .