Go ahead and turn up your nose when you look at Jesus Soto Karass' record. It's not very impressive when you bring a mark of 28-8-3 into the ring.
Those are the numbers Soto Karass will bring with him the next time he climbs through the ropes.
But sometimes it's not about the numbers. While nobody is about to say Soto Karass is one of the best fighters in the business, he is coming into his own and his boxing is on the upswing.
He certainly made a bold statement after stopping Andre Berto in the 12th round in their fight in San Antonio. Soto Karass ended the fight in memorable fashion when he delivered a crushing left hook to the right upper jaw of Berto and he went down hard. While Berto got up fairly quickly, the referee stopped the fight immediately.
Soto Karass saved himself a lot of heartache with the stoppage because the judges were not going to do him any favors. Even though he appeared to be well ahead in the fight, one judge had the fight in his favor, another had Berto leading and the third had it even.
Soto Karass, 30, may have a pedestrian record, but he has won four of his last five bouts. His only loss in that span was an eighth-round TKO suffered against hard-hitting Marcos Maidana in 2012. Soto Karass was actually giving a good account of himself prior to getting stopped in that fight.
He also defeated Selcuk Aydin before getting in the ring with Berto.
Soto Karass seems certain to get another prime-time bout on Showtime, a point that ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael tweeted about after the fight.
Not sure where Berto goes from here. Don't see a big fight in his future. Soto Karass will get another Showtime fight for sure out of this.
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) July 28, 2013
Adrien Broner (27-0-0) might be the next big name for Soto Karass to tackle. Broner is on the upswing himself and may look at Soto Karass's record and laugh, but that would be his mistake.
Actually, that's quite likely the way Broner will respond if a fight with Soto Karass gets discussed. Broner is one of the sport's most notable trash talkers, and he won't like the idea of fighting somebody who has eight losses on his record.
But a fight with Broner could be great for Soto Karass. He is a hard-working fighter who is coming into his own, even if it's a bit late compared to most boxers. He also fights three minutes every round and doesn't take any rounds off.
Broner could not say the same thing. He fights in spurts and is often content to wing punches in the late stages of the round to try to impress the judges. That style could be made to order for Soto Karass.
This could be a big-time bout that captures the attention of fight fans. Broner may want the winner of Floyd Mayweather-Saul Alvarez, but it's doubtful he will get that.
Let him get in the ring with a hard worker like Soto Karass and see what he can do.
Soto Karass has earned such an opportunity.
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