Post-Fight Press Conference: Berto vs. Soto Karass, Chaves vs. Thurman & Fight Summaries

The city of San Antonio was treated to another excellent night of boxing with Knockout Kings II. Thurman, Figueroa and Soto-Karass scored impressive wins in fights that tested the will, heart and determination for all six fighters. After a night like this, it would be no surprise if fans are already looking forward to Knockout Kings III!

As with most contests, there are winners and losers. Thurman’s performance earned him the Knockout Bonus Prize as he dispatched Chaves in 10 rounds. The bonus was no easy task to win for Thurman as the Argentina fighter tested him early in the fight causing Thurman to adjust in the second part of the bout en-route to a 10th round knockout.

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Photos / Video: Soto Karass knocks out Andre Berto, Keith Thurman KOs Diego Chaves

Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass knocked out Andre Berto, Keith Thurman was dubbed Knockout King, but Omar Figueroa and Nihito Arakawa stole the show Saturday night on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

Soto Karass scored a 12th round technical knockout victory over a remarkably resilient Berto in front of 8,811 fans in the main event on SHOWTIME at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

In an event dubbed Knockout Kings II, Soto Karass came out of the gate strong, establishing and displaying his power against Berto, who injured his right shoulder in the early rounds of the fight and was essentially limited to his left hand for the majority of the bout.

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Thurman targeting Maidana after win over Chaves

Keith Thurman (21-0, 19 KO’s) won an impressive 10th round TKO victory over the tough as nails Argentinian Diego Chaves (22-1, 18 KO’s) last Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas to win the interim WBA 147 lb. title. Instead of targeting WBA champ Adrien Broner, Thurman wants to fight #1 WBA, Marcos Maidana next.

Thurman said as quoted by RingTV “If I had it my way, I would fight Maidana. He’s been ducking me for a year.”

In a way that kind of makes sense because it seems pointless for Thurman to seek out a fight against Broner because the chances of Thurman getting a fight with him in 2013 or 2014 are probably slim at best. Broner will likely vacate and/or avoid the fight by facing other guys.

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Andre Berto: I think I tore my right shoulder out of the socket

Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KO’s) complains that he may have torn his right shoulder out of the socket early in his fight against Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KO’s) last night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Berto was knocked out in the 12th round after getting hit with a left hook at the same time he was throwing a punch of his own.

The shot deposited Berto on the canvas. He was able to get up by referee Jon Schorle stopped it immediately at 0:48 of the round. Berto didn’t like the quick stoppage and felt that he should have been given standing 8 count rather than having the fight halted without him having the chance to collect himself.

The fight was a draw at the time of the stoppage with one judge scoring it 105-103 for Berto, another 105-103 for Soto Karass and the third judge scoring it 114-114 even.

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Soto Karass KOs Andre Berto; Thurman stops Chaves

Andre Berto’s career could be pretty much over tonight after he was stopped in the 12th round by Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KO’s) AT&T Center, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Soto Karass hit Berto with a left hand to the head that put him down on the canvas in the 12th.

Although Berto got back to his feet quickly, the fight was immediately stopped by the referee after he saw how Berto was on rubber legs with a ton of time still left in the round.It’s a good thing that Soto Karass stopped Berto, because he might have been on the receiving end of a controversial decision loss.

At the time of the stoppage, the judges had it 105-103 for Berto, 114-114 even and 105-103 for Soto Karass. I don’t know how you could watch this fight and see Berto ahead.

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Berto in crucial fight against Soto Karass tonight

(Photo credit: Steve Lopez) Andre Berto’s once promising career has come crashing down with his recent defeats against Victor Ortiz and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, and he’s now literally in a situation tonight where he can’t afford to lose to Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO’s) if he wants to stay at the top of the welterweight division among the other names.

A loss to Soto Karass tonight could put Berto into a category where he’s little more than a gatekeeper in the 147 lb. division. Soto Karass is the type of fighter that the top welterweights are supposed to be able to beat, and if Berto can’t beat him then he’s going to have to make a hard decision about the direction of his career.

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Brandon Rios towers over Pacquiao in face-off in Macao

pac90 Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) could be facing the equivalent of a better version of Antonio Margarito when he steps inside the ring against Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) on November 23rd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

The two fighters met today in Macao, China in their media tour in China to start publicizing their November 23rd pay per view fight. When the two fighters stood face to face, you could see immediately the size difference between them.

Rios, 5’8”, not only looks a lot taller than the 5’6 ½” Pacquiao, but he also looks a lot heavier as well. Pacquiao could be dealing with a younger, more active version of a Margarito-like fighter. This is coming at a wrong time for the soon to be 35-year-old Pacquiao, because he took a lot of punishment against Margarito, but he did it when he was three years younger. Now nearing 35, it’s not good timing for Pacquiao to be facing this kind of puncher in Rios.

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Shiming defeats Ortega but fails to impress; Estrada beats Melindo

Flyweight Zou Shiming (2-0) proved tonight that he’s better than Jesus Ortega (3-2, 2 KO’s) in beating him by a 6 round unanimous decision but that’s all he proved at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Shiming looked nothing short of mediocre and nowhere near good enough to compete with the major players at flyweight or even the contenders. Shiming looked better than Ortega and that’s about it. The judges scored it 59-55, 59-55, 59-55.

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Pacquiao vs. Rios tickets go on sale

If Horace Greeley were a boxing promoter today he would undoubtedly be espousing, “Go East, young man.” And in boxing’s biggest demonstration of Manifist Destiny, Fighter of the Decade Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO and former world champion and reigning hellion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS will battle each other in a 12-round welterweight rumble, Saturday, November 23, from The Venetian® Macao’s CotaiArena™, in Macao, China. Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, Pacquiao vs. Rios will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets, priced from $1,275 to $115, and various ticket-hotel packages at Sands China’s Cotai Strip Resorts Macao, go on sale, This Monday! July 29, at 10:00 a.m. local time (Sunday, July 28, at 10:00 p.m. ET). Boxing fans can purchase tickets online and get complete information at www.venetianmacao.com/manny.

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Exclusive Interview – Omar Figueroa, Jr. & Team Arakawa

The co-main event for Knockout Kings II will feature Texas’ own Omar “Panterita” Figueroa against Japan’s own Nihito Arakawa.

Figueroa is expected to be the fighter that Texas will be cheering on during Saturday night as he’s the one with the momentum between the two fighters. Arakawa is seemingly unknown to the mainstream fan. Could this fight be more competitive than we think? Team Arakawa certainly thinks so.

I had the opportunity ask both Figueroa and Team Arakawa some questions to shed some background and expectations to the viewers that don’t know much about them. Figueroa, though in his early twenties, showed maturity for his age as a fighter and person. Team Arakawa showed optimism for the upcoming bout as they recognized their opponent’s strengths and opportunities.

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