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Versus Fight Night Live Recap

November 15, 2007

Sovereign Center-Reading, Pennsylvania

Super Welterweight (154 pounds) 10-Round Match:

Jesus Soto Karass (17-3-3, 14 KO's, 148.25 pounds) vs. Juan Buendia (14-1-1 (1 NC), 8 KO's, 145 pounds)

The 3 losses in Soto's (Soto-Karass prefers to be called Soto) career came in consecutive matches to undefeated boxers.

Soto is coming off a round 3 technical knockout victory over Jose Antonio Ojeda at the El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas on August 17, 2007. In that match, Soto won the WBC Continental Americas Championship at 147 pounds.  That championship is not at stake in this match.

The build up to the match by Versus makes it clear Buendia is being brought in to put on an exciting action match, but lose.

The resident of Los Michos, Sinaloa, Mexico is unranked by The Ring magazine, but ranked number 22 among boxers at 147 pounds by boxrec.com.

Buendia's last match ended in a no contest in round 1 versus Oscar Diaz at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi on July 14, 2007.

The resident of Michigan is unranked by The Ring magazine, but ranked number 77 among boxers at 147 pounds by boxrec.com.

Soto has the age advantage at 25 years-old, compared to the 26-year-old Buendia. The resident of Mexico has the height advantage standing 5' 10" tall, while the Michigan resident stands 5' 8" tall. Soto has the reach advantage with a 73" wingspan, and Buendia has a 71" wingspan. The boxers' unofficial weights approaching match time are unavailable.  Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

The unified rules of boxing are in effect. The referee is Blair Talmadge. The home areas of the judges is not given.

Round 1 is very difficult to score. Soto was more consistent with his punches and landed more during the round. However, Buendia landed some huge punches, but not as part of combinations. Soto takes round 1, barely, 10-9. In round 1, Soto landed 24 of the 94 total punches he threw for a 26% connect percentage. In round 1, Buendia landed 23 of the 68 total punches he threw, for a 34% connect percentage. Both boxers landed 22 power punches in round 1. A powerful left hook from Soto hurts Buendia with 2:04 to go in round 2. That leads to Buendia to go down on all four's on the canvas with 2:00 remaining in round 2. Buendia satisfactorily answers the referees count and the action is restarted with 1:50 to go in the round. However, Buendia's looks very shaky, and is in real danger of not lasting out the round. Buendia decides not to hold on, but rather punch out the round. Somehow he survives the round with that strategy. Soto wins round 2, 10-8. Soto wins round 3, 10-9, and leads on my scorecard after 3 rounds, 30-26.

Round 4 is a wild round with both boxers exchanging punches for the entire 3 minutes. Buendia gets the better of it and wins round 4, 10-9. Buendia threw 108 total punches to win round 4, but backing up a lot of the round Soto threw 155 total punches. Through 4 rounds, Soto has landed 178 of 493 total punches for a 36% connect percentage. Through 4 rounds, Buendia has landed 125 of the 352 total punches he has thrown, also for a 36% connect percentage. Soto wins round 5, 10-9. Soto has a very good jab, and can control the match from the outside. However, Soto is choosing to brawl instead, and may get knocked out for his crowd pleasing effort. Soto wins round 6 easily, 10-9, and leads on my scorecard after 6 rounds, 59-54. The official scores could be much closer, though. This has been a really fun match to watch.

Buendia wins a close round 7, 10-9. There does not appear to be a lot of drama in this match, but for entertainment and workrate this is a great match. Through 7 rounds, Soto has landed 332 of the 864 total punches he has thrown, for a 38% connect percentage. Through 7 rounds, Buendia has landed 222 of the 621 total punches he has thrown, for a 36% connect percentage. Soto wins round 8, 10-9, and leads on my scorecard after 8 rounds, 78-73.

Soto wins round 9, 10-9. Buendia has swelling around both eyes during round 9, and is running out of gas. A left hook from Soto has Buendia in trouble with 55 seconds to go in round 10. Buendia, again decides to slug out the rest of the round when he is in on the verge of being knocked out and survives.  Soto wins round 10, 10-9, and wins the match on my scorecard, 98-91.

The official decision as read by Michael Buffer is that the judges score the match: 97-92, 98-91, 98-91, all for the winner by unanimous decision Jesus Soto-Karass. The win moves Soto to 18-3-3, with 14 of his wins coming by way of knockout.

The final CompuBox numbers have Soto landing 523 of the 1,288 total punches he threw, for a 41% connect percentage. The 523 punches landed is among the top 5 highest punches landed total for a 10 round match ever scored by CompuBox. Buendia landed 331 of the 900 total punches he threw, for a 37% connect percentage.

Soto is looking to get a title shot at 147 early in 2008, however with the depth in that division that is unlikely. He looked very good in this match, and ready to take on top opponents. The resident of Mexico took Buendia's best punches and never seemed effected. He showed the ability to box on the outside and trade on the inside in this match. Soto is likely to continue to face top challengers in the near future on his way to a title shot, and should have some very entertaining matches until he gets his shot at a major belt holder.

Buendia put on a great display in this match. He showed an incredible chin and exciting style. The Michigan resident may find it difficult to get top level opposition, because of how hard a test he will be for them. However, Buendia should continue to get quality television matches with his crowd pleasing style. Also, it is early in his career, and he is definitely going to improve. Buendia may be able to contend for a title in several years, but it appears his best weight may be 140 pounds. None of his punches were able to hurt Soto, and he was giving up a lot of size in this match up.

This match is worth finding on a replay.