HUMBERTO SOTO

updated November 10, 2007

After his impressive seventh-round knockout win against Bobby Pacquiao in June, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote, "Soto is one of the most underappreciated top fighters in the sport, but he continues to win and continues to put on exciting performances like this one. With Manny Pacquiao at ringside, Soto put on quite a display... Although Pacquiao hurt Soto a couple of times, Soto never stopped bashing away at him until finally ending it in the seventh... Soto could be the best 130-pounder in the world. Now, he just needs a chance to prove it against the elite."

Humberto also gave an impressive performance in February and stopped Humberto Toledo in the third round.

Dan Rafael wrote, "Soto is the real deal... He is fast and powerful, and he throws short, accurate shots. Soto...deserves a title shot immediately." Humberto won the WBC interim title in August, 2005, with an impressive performance in a 12-round unanimous decision win against 2000 Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez, and made one successful title defense in February, 2006.

Humberto relinquished the title to move up to the super featherweight division, and won a WBC title eliminator on August 12, 2006. He said through an interpreter, "I feel more comfortable at 130 pounds. I'd like to stay at this weight for a year, then I'd like to jump to the lightweight division."

A lifelong resident of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Humberto trains for his fights in Tijuana. He said, "I'm a technical boxer. I think my strongest point is my counterpunching. I work very hard in the gym to learn different things. I'm very dedicated in the gym and on a personal level.

"I train at two gyms here in Tijuana. We used to go to the Ulloa Gym, but right now I'm training in Pedro Moran's gym, because there are more boxers there."

Humberto has fought good opposition throughout his career. Four of his losses and both of his draws came in his first three years as a pro.

Regarding his nickname, he said, "My grandpa gave me that nickname when I was seven years old. Zorrita means like, a fox. A fox moves all the time, they never stay in one place. My grandpa said I was always running, jumping."

Key Fights - 2007 - in his last fight on 9-14-07 in Los Mochis, MX, he TKO'd Ismael Gonzalez (18-13): Gonzalez fought aggressively, but Humberto scored a knockdown with a left hook that dropped him - out cold - in the 3rd round, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:25...

On 6-9-07 in New York, NY, he knocked out lefthander Bobby Pacquiao (27-12-3): the bout was co-featured with the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah main event at Madison Square Garden, and it was an exciting fight; Humberto scored a knockdown with a left hook late in the 1st round, although replays showed that the punch missed behind Pacquiao's neck; Pacquiao, Manny's younger brother, boxed effectively in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, but Humberto landed the harder punches and appeared to have the edge; Pacquiao was cut over his right in the 4th, but rallied later in the round - he staggered Humberto with a right hook, then staggered him again before the bell; the 5th and 6th rounds were closer, but Humberto staggered Pacquiao with a right hand in the 7th, then scored a knockdown moments later with a left hook to the body, and Pacquiao was counted out on his hands and knees at 1:48; On 2-22-07 in Chester, WV, he TKO'd Humberto Toledo (30-2-2): Humberto was very impressive and quickly overpowered Toledo; Humberto scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 1st round, the scored three more in the 3rd and the referee stopped the fight at at 1:50...

2006 - WBC SF ELIMINATOR FOR NO. 1 RANKING - on 8-12-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd Ivan Valle (24-7-1): the fight was featured with the Oleg Maskaev-Hasim Rahman main event; Humberto was very impressive and dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown woth a series of punches midway through the 1st round, but was also cut over his left eye by a clash of heads; Valle was penalized two points for an intentional low blow in the 2nd round; Humberto scored two more knockdowns in the 3rd round; Humberto scored another knockdown early in the 4th that put Valle flat on his back, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:42; after the fight, Humberto said, "It was a very important fight for me. I'm ready for anyone at 130 or 135 pounds, and hope that the winner of either the Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez fight, or the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao fight, will step up to face me."...

1ST WBC INTERIM F WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 2-17-06 in Los Mochis, MX, he TKO'd Oscar Leon (27-4): the bout headlined at the Emilio Ibarra baseball stadium, and drew a crowd of over 6,000; Humberto dominated most of the fight; Leon was penalized one point for low blows in the 3rd, and Humberto scored one knockdown in the 6th round; Humberto scored two more knockdowns in the 9th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:34...

2005 - on 10-13-05 in Los Mochis he knocked out Ulises Duarte (10-5-1): at 2:20 of the 1st round; it was a nontitle fight...

WON WBF INTERIM F WORLD TITLE - on 8-20-05 in Rosemont, IL, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Rocky Juarez (23-0): the fight was co-featured with the Fernando Vargas-Francisco Castillejo main event at the Allstate Arena that drew 9,096 fans, and Juarez was a big favorite to win; he had been scheduled to challenge WBC feathereweight world champion Injin Chi for the title, but Chi was injured in training and withdrew; Humberto started fast, but Juarez rallied in the middle rounds and after six rounds, Humberto led by scores of 58-56, 58-56, 58-56; Humberto finished the fight strongly, but was penalized one point for punching to the back of the head in the 9th and another point for the same foul in the 10th round; Humberto swept the 12th round on all three scorecards, and won by scores of 114-112, 114-113, 114-113; after the fight, Humberto said, "I thought it was unfair that the referee took the points away from me. It inspired my performance that much more."...

2004 - on 12-10-04 in Tijuana, MX, he TKO'd Ismael Gonzalez (17-7): Humberto dominated most of the fight and stopped Gonzalez at 1:23 of the 10th round; Gonzalez was penalized one point for low blows; after nine rounds, Humberto led by scores of 90-80, 89-81, 87-84...

On 9-17-04 in Las Vegas, NV, he had a no decision against Jorge Solis (26-0-2): at the end of the 3rd round...

On 7-12-04 in Tijuana he TKO'd Gerardo Zayas (15-8-1): Zayas' eye swelled shut, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:41 of the 6th round...

On 5-28-04 in Las Vegas he knocked out Wilson Alcorro (33-5-3): at 1:23 of the 6th round...

2003 - on 12-12-03 in Laughlin, NV, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against James Baker (13-3-3): scored 100-88 on all three scorecards...

On 9-12-03 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former Mexican featherweight champion Luis Fuente (24-2-1): Humberto pressed forward and consistently outworked Fuentes; he scored a knockdown late in the 10th round, and won by scores os 100-90, 99-91, 99-91; after the fight, Humberto said, "It's an excellent win. It was the opponent. The better the opponent, the better I fight."...

On 6-27-03 in Las Vegas he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Armando Cordova (20-10-1): Humberto fought aggressively and outworked Cordova; scored 99-91, 98-92, 97-93; after the fight, Humberto said, "I'm not happy. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. I didn't listen to my corner. He moved too much. It was hard to catch him. I have the skills to do it, but I didn't do it. That is why I was disappointed. I wrestled with him too much. I was tired."... On 2-28-03 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Cesar Figueroa (23-1-2): many observers favored Figueroa to win and it was a good fight; the early rounds were close, but Humberto scored a knockdown in the 4th round with a left hook that put Figueroa flat on his back; Humberto staggered Figueroa with a series of punches in the 7th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:36...

2002 - WON VACANT FECARBOX L TITLE - on 11-22-02 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd Emidgio Gastelum (14-6-1): the fight was supposed to be for a vacant regional jr. lightweight title, but Gastelum did not make weight; Humberto put on a few pounds and they fought for a regional lightweight title; Gastelum was game and rocked Humberto in the 3rd round, but Humberto came back, scored a knockdown later in the round and dominated the rest of the fight; the referee stepped in at 1:49 of the 12th round; after 11 rounds, all three judges scored 110-98 for Humberto...

On 7-13-02 in Las Vegas he lost a 12 round majority decision against former WBC featherweight world champion Kevin Kelley (52-5-2): Humberto gave a good effort and it was a close fight; Kelley rocked him in the 1st round, but Humberto rallied in the middle rounds; Kelley rocked him again in the 8th, but Humberto came back and staggered Kelley in the 11th; the fighters went toe-to-toe in the final round and had the crowd on their feet; scored 115-113, 116-112, 114-114; looking back, Humberto said, "A lot people felt that I won that fight, but the judges saw it another way. That is just boxing. But though I lost officially, I won a lot of respect for my performance that night. In fact, my confidence grew even more."...

On 5-17-02 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd Mexican prospect Marco Perez (16-2): Perez started fast, but twisted his right ankle and could not continue, and the fight was stopped at 1:16 of the 3rd round...

On 4-26-02 in Palm Springs, CA, he won a 10 round majority decision against 1996 U.S. Olympic alternate Mark Burse (10-1-1): it was a good, close fight; Humberto pressed forward and scored with body punches, but Burse boxed effectively; Humberto was staggered in the 6th round, but came back strong in the late rounds; some observers thought Burse deserved to win; scored 97-93, 99-91, 95-95...

2000 - on 11-3-00 in Ciudad Juarez he lost a 10 round decision against hometown favorite David Murillo (14-2): Humberto started fast, but Murillo constantly pressed forward and outworked him for most of the fight...

On 9-1-00 in Los Mochis, MX, he knocked out Ivan Valle (14-1) in the 1st round...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Humberto said, "I was born and raised in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. I have two sisters and one brother. My father is a city bus driver. My cousin, Hugo Cazarez, is a boxer.

"My grandpa always like to watch boxing on TV, and I used to spend a lot of time with him. I started boxing when I was seven years old. He took me to an amateur tournament in the neighborhood in Los Mochis, and I participated in the tournament.

"I had 60 amateur fights. I was 52-8. I won the Mexican national amateur championship. I don't remember what year.

"Right now, I'm concentrating only on boxing. But I plan to buy some busses or taxis to rent in Los Mochis.

"I'm married. I have one son who is four years old, and another one that was born in August, 2005."...