Elwin Soto (La Pulga) pugile

Elwin Soto Castro (born December 23, 1996) is a Mexican professional boxer who has held the WBO junior flyweight title from 2019 to 2021.Soto was scheduled to fight the reigning WBO light flyweight champion Ángel Acosta on June 21, 2019, in Acosta's fourth title defense. Soto was at the time the #15 ranked WBO light flyweight contender, and was considered a significant underdog going into the Acosta fight. Going into the twelfth round, Acosta was leading on the scorecards by 105-103, 106-102 and 107-101, while Soto managed to knock the champion down in the third round. Soto staggered Acosta with a left hook in the last round, and piled on volume, before referee Thomas Taylor abruptly stopped the fight at 23 seconds. The stoppage was considered controversial, as Acosta immediately protested the stoppage and didn't seem to be visibly hurt.Soto was scheduled to make his first title defense against Edward Heno on October 24, 2019. The fight was set as the main event of the Golden Boy DAZN Thursday Night Fights. Soto won the closely contested fight, during which he was knocked down in the third round, by unanimous decision. The judges' scorecards reflected the close nature of the bout, with scores of 114-113, 115-112, and 115-112.Soto moved up to flyweight for his next fight, being scheduled to fight Javier Alejandro Rendon in a non-title bout. Rendon's last three fights were at bantamweight, so the fight represented a move in weight for both fighters. Soto made quick work of his opponent, knocking him out with a body shot near the end of the first round.For his second title defense, Soto was scheduled to fight the three-time world title challenger Carlos Buitrago, on October 30, 2020. Soto won the fight by a competitive unanimous decision, keeping his opponent at bay with his jab and power. Although one judge scored the bout 119-109, media outlets found the scores of 117-111 and 115-113 as more reflective of the contest.His victory against Buitrago was Soto’s final fight under contract with Golden Boy Promotions, after which he signed with Matchroom Boxing USA. His signature with Matchroom opened the road to a title unification bout with Hiroto Kyoguchi, who was likewise under contract with Matchroom Boxing.