Brandon Rios vs Humberto Soto Preview Feb. 23rd
Former world champion Brandon Rios of Lubbock, Texas will be battling it out this February 23rd against Mexican veteran Humberto Soto. The 12-round jr middleweight bout comes from Tijuana, Mexico. Rios last fought back in November when he stopped Ramon Alvarez, the brother of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, in the ninth round. Soto’s last action took place in August when he beat Edgar Puerta by a 10-round unanimous decision. The fight can be seen live in North America on DAZN and on Sky Sports Main Event and Action channels in the UK.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Rios vs Soto Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Humberto Soto +515
- Brandon Rios -665
My Pick
The 32-year-old Rios, who fights out of Oxnard, California enjoyed a fine amateur career and was undefeated after his first 27 pro bouts. He’s a former world lightweight titleholder with a record of 35-4-1 with 26 Kos. His biggest wins have been against Alvarez, Aaron Herrera, Miguel Acosta, Richar Abril, Urbano Antillon, John Murray, Anthony Peterson, and twice against Mike Alvarado. He faced Alvarado three times in an exciting trilogy and lost the second bout by a 12-round unanimous decision. Both of his wins against Alvarado were by stoppage.
His other two losses came at the hands of Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision in November, 2013 and by ninth-round stoppage to Timothy Bradley in November, 2015. Rios stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and has a reach of 68 inches. He’s fought 230 rounds since turning pro back in 2004. Rios has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 65 per cent. However, he was handed a six-month suspension when failing his post-fight drug test against Pacquiao. Rios may be known as a fan-friendly brawler, but he does possess pretty good and somewhat underrated boxing skills.
He’s effective when he works his way on the inside, but sooner or later his natural instinct takes over and most of his bouts turn into toe-to-toe slugfests. And although he’s been stopped on three occasions it’s safe to say that he owns a pretty solid chin. He’ll be taking on the 38-year-old Soto who’ll climb into the ring with a mark of 68-9-2 along with 37 Kos to his name. Soto turned pro back in 1997 and has 576 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He’s not the most powerful guy around as he owns a 46 per cent knockout ratio.
Soto is a former lightweight, super featherweight, and featherweight champion. He’s probably one of the most underrated fighters in the game and most of his losses came early in his career. He’s won several regional and international titles since turning pro along with the World Boxing Federation Welterweight belt and at one time held the WBC Lightweight Crown from 2010 to 2012. He was also the WBC Super Featherweight Champion in 2008 and 2009 and was the interim WBC Featherweight Champ in 2005.
Soto is slightly shorter than Rios at 5-foot 7 ½, but has a small four-inch reach advantage at 72 inches. He’s a former lightweight, super featherweight, and featherweight champion. He’s probably one of the most underrated fighters in the game and most of his losses came early in his career. He’s been beaten by Lucas Matthysse, Kevin Kelley, Joan Guzman, and Antonio Orozco, but has been stopped just twice in his nine losses, to Matthysse in 2012 and Hector Marquez way back in 2000.
Prediction…
Soto has struggled a little in the past against physical fighters such as David Diaz, Urbano Antillon and Matthysse as they were able to wear him down and Rios has that same ability. Soto will have to throw punches in volume and if he has enough power he could discourage Rios from moving in. Soto’s gone the distance in eight of his last 11 bouts though and may not have the power. Both boxers have aggressive styles and we could see a lot of punches thrown and landed. Soto began his career at 118 lbs and has grown over the years whereas Rios is naturally bigger and has power. Soto has been involved in some wars over the years and he’s exciting to watch. His experience is hard to match and he hasn’t been stopped in seven years, so Rios will have his hands full. Still, considering this fight’s at 154 lbs I’ll go with Rios.
Rios is more used the the heavier weight.
Play: Rios -665 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Brandon Rios betting • Humberto Soto betting