Jesus Soto Karass upset Andre Berto on Saturday night in San Antonio

By Chris Robinson / Photos courtesy of Naoki Fukuda

In an excellent match, Sinaloa, Mexico native Jesus Soto Karass registered perhaps the biggest victory over his career in stopping former world champion Andre Berto in the 12th and final round of their match inside the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Pressing the action early, Karass was in full control against Berto, who fought bravely in the face of a right shoulder injury that visibly affected him.

Karass was dropped with a left to the body in the eleventh round but returned the favor to Berto the following frame with a picturesque counter left of his own.

Berto rose on shaky legs but referee John Schorle opted the end the action.

With the win, Soto Karass improves to 28-8-3 with 18 stoppages while Berto falls to 28-3 with 22 knockouts.

Omar Figueroa overcomes Nihito Arakawa in blazing Fight of the Year candidate

In an absolutely grueling affair, undefeated lightweight prospect Omar Figueroa continued to impress, winning a slugfest with Nihito Arakawa over twelve scintillating rounds.

The buzz has been high on Figueroa and he didn’t disappoint despite finding himself in perhaps a tougher-than-expected situation against his Japanese foe. For twelve thrilling rounds, the two men traded heavy shots in the type of clash that typifies why we all love this sport so much.

Still, Figueroa’s superior power and physical strength was evident, as two knockdowns helped to secure the victory for him as scorecards reading 119-107, 118-108 twice were read in the Weslaco native’s favor.

Figueroa is becoming a fixture on Showtime’s airwaves in recent times and he seems to be inching closer towards a title shot.

Keith Thurman deals with adversity, stops Diego Chaves in ten

On Saturday night, inside of the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, welterweight Keith Thurman made another step towards contender status in halting Argentina’s Diego Chaves in the tenth round.

It wasn’t an easy task for Thurman (21-0, 19 KO’s), as Chaves (22-1, 18 KO’s) came out strong in the early rounds as a bit of firefight broke out.

To his credit, Thurman kept his composure and slowly began building momentum.

A left hook to the body would drop Chaves in the ninth and one round later an onslaught of punches would put him down for the count.

Expect Thurman to continue to call for the big names in the welterweight division as he eyes a big fight later this year.

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com