Although they weren't what they used to be, Humberto Soto and Brandon Rios still managed to deliver an entertaining clash at junior middleweight Saturday. The 38-year-old Soto (69-9-2) managed his energy better than Rios did his, picked off the aggressor with crisp combinations and stole the rounds when it mattered to take home a unanimous decision victory in the main event on DAZN at the Municipal Auditorium in Tijuana, Mexico. MORE: Join DAZN to watch 100+ fight nights a year Soto's best years may be behind him but the cagey veteran demonstrated enough grit to deal with his aging body that wore down as the fight went on. Rios never had an alternate plan as he plowed forward in hopes of wearing down Soto and eventually steamrolling his way to victory. Instead, Soto banked the early rounds with activity and movement before managing his gas tank late by picking his spots and exploding in the final seconds of each round. Soto started off quickly in the early going and surprised Rios with his aggressive approach. He landed numerous combinations while sinking punches into the torso of "Bam Bam." Rios is six years Soto's junior, but he was unable to use that difference to his advantage. It was clear by the middle rounds that Soto was wearing down, but Rios was unable to do anything with it. Rios (35-5-1) kept pressing forward but he, too, was fatigued courtesy of Soto's body work and thus struggled to take advantage of the times Soto attempted to collect his breath. Soto may not have ever hurt Rios, but the clean and crisp punching impressed the judges enough to produce scores of 119-111, 118-112 and 118-112. Here's how it all went down. Brandon Rios vs. Humberto Soto results Humberto Soto outlasts Brandon Rios to earn unanimous decision 11:42 p.m.: The judges saw this one wider than we did with scores of 119-111, 118-112 and 118-112. Soto was simply craftier on this night and turned Rios' aggression against him. Round 12 (11:37 p.m.): Rios plows forward and Soto goes right to the body with hooks. Rios barrels ahead yet is unable to gain any momentum. As soon as they break, Soto peels off a three-punch combination. If the plan was to wear Soto down, it probably didn't include Rios dealing with his own level of fatigue. Soto absorbs Rios' aggression and picks him off with another combination. With 10 seconds left, Soto does it again and cracks off a final combination to steal the round along with the fight. 10-9, Soto (117-111, Soto). Round 11 (11:32 p.m.): Rios needs a knockout on my scorecard but hasn't done anything to get him closer to that goal with two rounds left. Soto is playing it smart and tying up "Bam Bam" when he gets too close. Soto hasn't thrown many punches in this round but Rios just isn't taking full advantage of the opportunity. Soto is clearly exhausted and taking the round off. Rios takes the 11th but he's going to need a knockout at this point. 10-9, Rios (107-102, Soto) Round 10 (11:28 p.m.): Rios has joined Soto in the exhaustion category but Soto has managed his fatigue much better than Rios as he continues to pick his spots and land the cleaner punches. With 10 seconds to go, Soto again fires a burst of punches in Rios' direction. Many of them land and it's the most significant moment of the round. 10-9, Soto (98-92, Soto). Round 9 (11:24 p.m.): Soto is clearly tired but he's far enough ahead on my scorecard that he simply needs to remain upright to win this fight. The movement that was there earlier from Soto is almost nonexistent. Still, Soto is finding ways to let his hands go enough to land telling blows. Rios keeps coming forward and is landing to the body and head. It's a close round but Rios scores with several hooks to the head while Soto languishes on the ropes. 10-9, Rios (88-83, Soto). Round 8 (11:20 p.m.): Rios presses forward again. The issue is that Rios is smothering his own shots and it's difficult for the judges to see what is landing clean. Meanwhile, Soto creates space and lands flush for everybody to see. Soto with an uppercut that lifts Rios' head into the sky. It doesn't stop Rios from coming forward but it certainly is putting him behind the 8-ball. As tired as he is, Soto is finding ways to win this fight. 10-9, Soto (79-73, Soto). Round 7 (11:16 p.m.): Soto has admitted to his corner that he is tired. There's still half a fight left. He's going to have to suck it up. Soto is picking his spots well while Rios isn't taking advantage of Soto taking a breath. Short right hand for Soto lands. He's not hurting Rios but he's racking up points. 10-9, Soto (69-64, Soto). Round 6 (11:12 p.m.): Rios and his pressure are now getting to Soto. Rios clocks Soto with a pair of right hands. Soto takes a deep breath and fires off a combination just to show that there's still life in him. Soto with a combination but he's clearly fighting in spots and looking to explode. Rios is outworking Soto in close quarters now. Soto still finding places to pop off a crisp combination. Soto lands a big uppercut and cuts loose a lively combination to steal the round. 10-9, Soto (59-55, Soto). Round 5 (11:08 p.m.): Rios has yet to alter his strategy in hopes of wearing Soto down. He's having a good round thus far. Those explosive exchanges from Soto are not coming off as quickly. He's slowing down or taking a round off. Either way, Rios has taken this round due to his pressure and ability to score on the inside. 10-9, Rios (49-46, Soto). Round 4 (11:01 p.m.): Soto is banking quite a few shots to the body on Rios in hopes of slowing down his advances. With a minute to go, Soto turns Rios' back to the ropes and assaults him with power shots.<doc-sep>Humberto Soto and Brandon Rios are certainly both past their prime, but anyone who tuned in to DAZN tonight got a hell of a show from Tijuana, as the two veteran warriors and former world champions battled their hearts out over 12 rounds. In the end, it was the 38-year-old Soto getting the better of the 32-year-old Rios, winning on scores of 118-112, 118-112, and 119-111. BLH had it 116-112 for Soto. Soto (69-9-2, 37 KO) was competing in his 81st professional fight, having turned pro in Sept. 1997. He’s years past his best days and fighting several divisions over his best weight these days, but “La Zorrita” proved he still has a little bit left in the tank with the victory. Soto got the better of Rios (35-5-1, 26 KO) in the first half of the fight, after which Rios did put together something of a charge. But in many respects, the fight was Soto taking Rios to school, giving him a bit of a boxing lesson with a lot of veteran tricks, including his determination to steal every single round in the final 10 seconds, which clearly worked out as he got some wide scores in his favor. There was talk of Soto perhaps retiring after this fight, as he’s old and clearly fought much of this fight fatigued. Time isn’t going to get any kinder to him, and realistically he’s done all he’s ever going to do in boxing. But this win might convince him to come back out for another one. We’ll see. As for Rios, it’s a devastating setback. He flirted with retirement following his 2015 loss to Timothy Bradley Jr, but returned in 2017. He was knocked out by Danny Garcia in Feb. 2018, but still had hopes of getting another world title fight. Those hopes are surely dashed with this loss. It’s just impossible to imagine any scenario where he’s any sort of real danger to the world’s top welterweights — we’re talking guys like Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and the aforementioned Garcia here. These are really high-level fighters in their prime years, and Rios is just not on that level. You have to think there’s a good chance “Bam Bam” goes back into retirement after this, because he, too, has probably achieved everything he can in the sport at this point. But it was a good fight and we should tip our caps to a couple of guys who left everything in the ring. They reminded us once more of the sort of heart they have, the will and determination and toughness that made them both champions in thee first place.<doc-sep>In a battle of former lightweight belt holders past their physical primes, Humberto Soto defeated Brandon Rios over 12 rounds by unanimous decision Saturday in Tijuana, Mexico. The scores were 119-111, 118-112 and 118-112 in the junior middleweight contest. Soto (69-9-2, 37 KOs), a grizzled veteran, showed at age 38 that he is still a crafty technician, boxing well early on, using adroit movement to offset the pressure of Rios (35-5-1, 26 KOs) and also creating offensive openings for himself. In the early stages, Soto built up an early lead by simply beating the methodical Rios to the punch time and time again. Humberto Soto, 38, won by unanimous decision over Brandon Rios on Saturday. Jeff Gross/Getty Images But Rios, 32, never stopped coming forward and moving his hands. In this particular respect, it was prime Rios, who certainly landed his share of punches but could never truly turn the tide of the fight. Every time it seemed as though Rios was on the verge of seizing the momentum of this contest, Soto finished off rounds with quick and accurate flurries. While Rios threw many more punches throughout, the more accurate and effective salvos were thrown by Soto.<doc-sep>Brandon Rios hopes victory over Humberto Soto will earn another major title fight as 'Bam Bam' tries to fulfil a promise to his daughter to become a world champion again. The former WBA lightweight title holder faces Soto in Tijuana, Mexico in the early hours of Sunday morning at super-welterweight, live on Sky Sports, with both fighters battling to preserve their ambitions. Live Fight Night International Rios returned with a stoppage win over Ramon Alvarez in November, and has vowed to prove himself at the top level once more. We made that promise, and I don't want to break her heart, so that's why I want to be a champion again before I retire. I keep my word. "My main target is to get a title shot," said Rios. "Not only the reason why, is because I promised my little girl. She does karate. I told her, if you become a black belt, you give me that title. When I become a champion again, I give you my belt. "We made that promise, and I don't want to break her heart, so that's why I want to be a champion again before I retire. I keep my word. "Every day, I kid you not, she says 'Dad, remember you promised me?' Every day. I come to the gym today, she's asking me if I'm bringing back a title. That's 100 per cent my drive. 2:16 Rios overpowered Ramon Alvarez in Kansas "You know what, it could be soon. It could be my next fight, who knows with Eddie Hearn. For now I'm just concentrating on this guy. I'm ready for whatever falls next." Soto has held world titles in two divisions, earning the respect of Rios, who is expecting a hard-fought encounter. "It's going to be a great fight," said Rios. "Soto comes to fight, very talented, and very skilful. He's a big counter puncher. Image: Humberto Soto (right) is highly regarded by Rios "Then you've got myself, 'Bam Bam', who comes to brawl and always gives the fans a good show, but what always makes a perfect fight is a counter and a brawler. "There's always going to be punches thrown, always something going to happen." Watch Brandon Rios against Humberto Soto in Tijuana, Mexico, from midnight on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event.<doc-sep>
Brandon Rios reignites his explosive career when he collides with Humberto Soto in the early hours of Sunday morning, live on Sky Sports. 'Bam Bam' has earned a reputation as a reckless brawler and should produce a memorable super-welterweight showdown with Soto in front of their passionate supporters in Tijuana. Live Fight Night International As a former WBA lightweight champion, Rios has proven himself at the top level and wants one more world title shot, while Soto has ambitions of his own after winning belts in two weight divisions. Rios still has the appetite for battle as shown in his November stoppage win over Ramon Alvarez, brother of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez. 2:16 Rios overpowered Ramon Alvarez in Kansas But Soto, nicknamed 'The Crafty Little Fox', is a skilful counter puncher, who can punish any mistakes from his all-action opponent. This weekend's winner will stay in contention for more big-name fights, while the loser could be forced to reconsider their future in the sport. What the fighters said I’m fighting a guy that lives in Tijuana. He’s from Mexico, so I’m pretty sure the crowd’s going to be on his side, 100 per cent, but it feels good to be back out in front of Mexican fans. I’m ready to go and show the world that I’m ready to get back to the top again. I’m excited to get into the ring once again. I’m really happy to be headlining the main event in big fights such as Saturday night’s fight. What the promoter said It’s going to be all-action. Both guys must win. Essential reading Who else is on the bill? Talented amateur Alexis Espino makes his professional debut on the undercard after signing for Matchroom Boxing. The 19-year-old has linked up with trainer Robert Garcia and promoter Eddie Hearn singled him out as a future star. "This guy is a name you must remember," said Hearn. "This face is a face you will see for many, many years. "You're going to love his style." The weigh-in Brandon Rios: 151.8lbs Humberto Soto: 146.4lbs The time draws near 0:47 Brandon Rios battles Humberto Soto in Tijuana live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action Watch Brandon Rios against Humberto Soto in Tijuana, Mexico, from midnight on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event.