Photos: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy
In a war, WBO light flyweight champion Elwin “La Pulga” Soto (16-1, 11 KOs) retained his title by razor-thin unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Edward “The Heneral Fighting” Heno (14-1-5, 5 KOs) on Thursday night at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. Heno dropped an off-balance Soto in round three. Most rounds were close and all were hard-fought. Soto rallied down the stretch to pull it out 114-113, 115-112, 115-112. This was Soto’s first defense of his world title.
“I felt I need to throw more punches,” said Soto afterward. “I won the early rounds, and I won the later rounds. But there were some rounds in the middle where he beat me. Either way, I won the fight, and I’m ready for anyone. I just want to keep fighting, no matter who it is.”
Heno stated, “I’m happy that I did well. But I won this fight. My whole team knows I won this fight. We’re ready for anything these throw at us, but I want a rematch.”
Former world champion Angel “Tito” Acosta (21-2, 21 KOs) scored a fifth round KO over Raymond Tabugon (22-11-1, 11 KOs). Acosta, moving to flyweight after his 108lb world title loss against Elwin Soto, dropped Tabugon in round five, then knocked him out with a furious follow-up barrage. Time was 1:02.
“I felt strong in my first fight at 112 pounds,” commented Acosta. “I now want to fight against the best fighters in this new weight class. With this title, I’m now ranked in the top five, so I want any of the top fighters.”
Unbeaten super welterweight Raul “Cougar” Curiel (8-0, 6 KOs) scored a seventh round KO over Jeremy Ramos (11-8, 4 KOs). The bout was stopped after Curiel dropped Ramos. Time was 1:15.
Lightweight Nick Sullivan (2-0, 1 KO) knocked out pro debuting Gilberto Aguilar in the first round. Aguilar down twice.
Unbeaten super lightweight Jonathan “Thunder” Navarro (17-0, 9 KOs) scored a second-round TKO win against Levis Morales (17-6-1, 8 KOs). The fight ended when Morales’ corner threw in the towel at 1:49.
Unbeaten super welterweight Aaron McKenna (9-0, 5 KOs) shut out Sergio Gonzalez (6-7-1, 2 KOs) over six 60-54 3x.
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