Tapia Takes on Soto in 
“ Battle of the Little Giants”

by chris cozzone  

Next weekend on Showtime’s “Battle of the Little Giants,” Johnny Tapia will take on proven Juarez veteran Cesar “Cobrita” Soto, who is, like Tapia, a formidable former world champion.

Tapia, now with Don King, seeks world title #5 and win #50. Before he can secure a title shot (and until Don King can free up some time from his heavyweight concerns,) Johnny must stay busy and move ahead by fighting a big name.

Cesar Soto embodies perfect opposition.

“I have a lot of respect for Cesar Soto,” said Tapia, today in a national teleconference. “He is a very great champion . . . Never before in my life have I fought a guy with this much experience or this many knockouts.”

Soto’s no blow-off opponent. He’s got 66 fights and has only 9 losses. Wins include Luisito Espinosa and Agapito Sanchez.

His last fight was a draw with Edgar Barcenas in Juarez . While the fight came out a draw, it was damn close and I had Soto ahead one or two rounds. Both fights before that were losses—but to top names in the featherweight division. In October of ‘99 Soto went the distance in a wrestling match/fight with Prince Naseem Hamed. And in June of ’00, Oscar Larios won a 12-round decision over Soto.

While Soto does not have Tapia’s boxing skills, he’s got a chin and he’s got heart. Plus, it’s a crossroads fight for him. His record says he’s on the downside; a win over Tapia will put him back on top in his division.

I predict a fight that will go the distance, with neither fighter going down.

Tapia has called Soto a “one-dimensional fighter.”

“He comes hard at you with both hands,” said Tapia. “He can knock you out with both hands. You have to respect his power . . . I have to be at my best, stay on my toes, and see what he comes with.”

The question is, now with King and now trained by ex-champ Buddy McGirt, will Johnny come out to brawl or box? If he boxes, Soto won’t have a chance of winning too many rounds, if any. But if he tries to please the crowd and mix it up with the Mexican veteran, we may see an ugly scrap of a fight.

At 34, Tapia shows no signs of a decline in his skills and there is no talk of retiring in his camp.

Everything is going good for me now,” says Tapia. “I am not going to give it up now.”

Although Tapia would like to fight for another world title in the future, he’s staying busy by fighting big name fighters. There’s been talk of a fight with Prince Naseem Hamed but Tapia says it’s been just that—talk.

“There has been talk about that fight for over a year and a half and nothing has ever happened,” says Tapia. “Right now, all I’m doing is thinking about beating Soto.”

This weekend will also be Tapia’s first fight since re-signing with promoter Don King.

“I have been with every single promoter out there,” said Tapia. “But I need somebody to take care of me, to help me get onto bigger and better things.  I felt that Don King could do that.

Tapia’s fight with Soto will also be the first under his new trainer, former world champ Buddy McGirt.

“He is not changing my style,” says Tapia. “I really like Buddy as a person. I respect him as a champion. I need to get back on my toes, and I have Buddy doing that for me.”

“It’s not about changing his style,” Buddy McGirt said today. “It is just reminding him what he does best.  When you have Johnny’s talent, it gets to a point where you get bored.  You are doing just enough to win, and you’re not getting hurt.  You are beating these guys easily.  In my eyes, doing just enough is not good enough.  You have to do your best at all times.  You have to light that fire under Johnny, and make him do what he does best, because when he wants to outsmart you and does not want to get hit, you’re not going to touch him, I don’t care who you are.  But when he wants to get stubborn and stay inside, we all know what’s going to happen.  So the key is just to remind Johnny of little things, and just keep that fire lit under his butt.”