The Career of Boxer Orlando Soto
Orlando Antonio Soto Ruiz is a Panamanian former professional boxer from Tocumen. A featherweight who boxed from 1989 to 2004, Soto built a 32–11 record and challenged for world titles during a career that included regional championship bouts. His birthplace and orthodox stance are listed by BoxRec; the bout record is documented by BoxerList.
Panamanian title fights and a world-title challenge
Soto turned professional on January 21, 1989. In December 1993, he stopped Ramón Meléndez in Panama City in an IBF featherweight title bout. He later challenged IBF champion Tom Johnson in St. Louis on February 12, 1994, losing a 12-round unanimous decision. BoxerList also records Soto’s 1996 technical-knockout loss to Yong Soo Choi.
Soto continued to compete into the 2000s. He won WBC Continental Americas featherweight bouts against Edgar Bárcenas in 2001 and Héctor Velázquez in 2002, then lost to Jorge Rodrigo Barrios in a 2003 WBO Latino super-featherweight title fight. He finished with a technical-knockout loss to Jorge Solís on March 19, 2004—the bout shown in the video above. BoxerList’s fight-by-fight record lists the results and titles.
Record and legacy
BoxerList records 43 professional bouts: 32 wins, 11 losses, and no draws. A 2004 report in Panamanian newspaper La Prensa listed Soto at 32–10 with 20 knockouts before that year’s later losses, while BoxerList’s completed record lists 32–11. His career brought him from bouts across Panama to title fights in the United States and South Korea.
For more boxer profiles, see MMA USA’s Boxing section.
Selected Recorded Results
- 2004-03-19: Orlando Soto lost to Jorge Solis in Civic Center, Kissimmee.
- 2003-05-16: Orlando Soto lost to Armando Cordoba in Arena Roberto Duran, Panama City.
- 2003-01-31: Orlando Soto lost to Jorge Rodrigo Barrios in Casino Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (world boxing organisation latino super featherweight title | lost).
Sources
Article Tags
Orlando Soto, Boxing, Sports History
