Photo by Gene Blevins / Hogan Photos
Before losing to Keith Thurman in their December 14 bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas last year, Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3, 18 KOs) was having what one could call a great comeback year.
With a majority decision win over Selcuk Aydin and a spectacular 12th-round stoppage of Andre Berto, it seemed as if his career was finally gaining the momentum that had eluded him in previous years.
Despite eight losses in his record at the time, Soto Karass’ come-forward style had given him the opportunity to once again fight a high-level opponent on a big stage.
Indeed, Soto Karass took advantage of the opportunity when he landed a left hook to the body, followed by a powerful overhand right that wobbled Thurman in the opening round.
It seemed as if Thurman had underestimated Soto Karass’ power and, like a good fighter should, Soto Karass took advantage of that mistake.
Nevertheless, Thurman switched gears and began using his footwork more, something Soto Karass was not prepared for.
“We brought a plan and Thurman brought a plan, but when Thurman felt my power, he switched to plan B. He changed everything that we had planned for. I didn’t have a plan B. Now we have a plan A and a plan B,” said Soto Karass at a media workout promoting his Super Welterweight fight against Devon Alexander (25-2, 14 KOs).
It is this preparation for possible switches in game plans that Soto Karass will seek to bring to his fight this Saturday against Alexander, which will be on the undercard of the Welterweight showdown between Robert Guerrero and Yoshihiro Kamegai.
Soto Karass, a tough 31-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico, is known for his come-forward Mexican style and his ability to give anyone in front of him a tough fight.
With Alexander, however, he will have probably faced his most highly skilled opponent, who has a slick southpaw stance that makes fighting him a tough thing to do.
Alexander is also coming off a tough loss after losing his IBF Welterweight tile to Shawn Porter in a veritable dog fight that saw him cracking under Porter’s incessant pressure.
While Soto Karass is much slower than Porter, it will be interesting to see how Alexander deals with Soto Karass’ height and reach advantages, along with his relentless will.
“I’m going to take advantage of whatever errors he makes. If I have to box, we’ll have to box. If I have to apply pressure from the first round and we see that we are dominating him, that’s what we’ll do,” said Soto Karass, stressing his ability to switch gears.
It’s more likely that Soto Karass will apply pressure to Alexander, whose only losses were a result of dog fights against Porter and Timothy Bradley.
Trying to box Alexander might be a mistake, but Soto Karass is nevertheless prepared to do so and, despite the man setbacks in his career, looks ready to have another comeback.
