Photos: Sumio Yamada
In a very entertaining and controversial fight, 8:1 underdog Elwin “Pulga” Soto (15-1, 11 KOs) scored a twelfth round TKO to dethrone WBO light flyweight world champion Angel “Tito” Acosta (20-2, 20 KOs) on Friday night at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Soto floored Acosta in round three and had him in trouble. The champion rebounded and regained the upper hand on all three scorecards entering the final round. But when Soto rocked Acosta, the bout was very quickly waved off by referee Thomas Taylor crowning a new champion. Time was :23.
“The truth is I feel nice,” said Soto. “It feels great to accomplish this. I worked very hard and put a lot of effort into this. To be honest I thought I was going to lose and thank God I landed that punch and won the fight. When I first dropped him, I felt I could have stopped him, but I knew it was going 12 rounds. This is victory means a lot and dedicate this belt to my family.”
Acosta stated, “I’m a little disappointed. Sure, he hurt me but not enough for the stoppage. If I had the chance to do it again, I would have used my jab more and used my distance more just like I did in the gym. I told the referee he shouldn’t have stopped the fight. I was coming back to get him, but he shouldn’t have stopped the fight. Look it was the last round, there was not much more in the round. I would like to fight the same opponent or the other champions in the division.”
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Did the referee had to go somewhere else and decided to end the fight? Give the champ the chance he deserves. Don’t take the belt from him like that!
The more boxing I watch, the more I realize it’s become more a buisness than the sport it once was, smh.
I thought the fight stoppage was premature. Acosta was staggered but still had his hands up as he backed up to the ropes. However, the referee did not give him a chance to fight his way out of trouble. I have a lot of respect for Thomas Taylor, but he should have not stopped that fight when he did. Acosta, as the champ, deserved the chance to recover, if he could.
I thought Acosta would win the fight if he managed to survive the 12 rounds. He was just too active for Soto. Soto clearly showed that he could hurt Acosta and did so several times. On the other hand, Acosta was never able to seriously hurt Soto throughout the entire fight. I’m sure he was well ahead at the time of the stoppage, but Soto made the scorecards irrelevant.
Despite the controversial ending, the fight was one of the best of the year so far. I would love to see a rematch later this year.
Disappointed in the fastest stoppage in memory. Acosta could have held on long enough to end the round. That was a wtf-happened stoppage. Acosta looked alert, not stumbling. Head-scratching ending.