Hekkie Budler sets up world title shot with victory in Mexico

Hekkie Budler’s ambition to again become a world champion caught fire in the early hours of Sunday morning (SA Time).

Budler, fondly dubbed “The Hexecutioner” by his fans, delivered a technical masterclass to narrowly out-point Mexican opponent Elwin Soto in the latter’s own back yard in a WBC junior-flyweight title eliminator in Mexicali.

The latest feat in his storied career earned the South African the right to challenge current WBC junior-flyweight world champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan.

The pint-sized 34-year-old former multiple world champion managed to impress the judges enough to gain a unanimous 12-round decision by margins of 114-113 on all the scorecards.

Hostile crowd

Faced with a hostile, partisan home crowd, too many close rounds always pose a danger to visiting fighters and Budler and his handlers knew he had to take it away from Soto and eliminate any doubt.

That much he seemed to have done, but based on the final tally by the three ringside officials, they saw it otherwise and it was a crucial 12th round knockdown that edged the verdict in his favour as he boosted his career record to 34-4 (10 knockouts).

Budler connected with a sharp right hand which threw his opponent off balance in the final round as his glove briefly touched the canvas. Although it may have seemed at first glance like a slip, the referee ruled it to be a clean punch and instituted a mandatory standing eight count.

Soto (now 19-3-13), nine years the South African’s junior, found his timing and range initially but his work rate dropped off significantly as the fight progressed.

Budler began frustrating him with an intelligent ‘in-out’ approach, waiting for the Mexican to come at him and then more often than not dominating the exchanges.

Out-smarted

Soto moved and kept probing for openings, landed some telling body blows, but was simply out-smarted by Budler’s repertoire and superior ring craft.

Budler used the ring well, kept his work rate at a premium and never allowed the home fighter any room to unload as he skilfully accumulated points.

“That is exactly what we worked on. He boxed intelligently and it came together beautifully,” Budler’s beaming trainer Colin Nathan, who was admittedly a bit “puzzled” by the scorecards, said shortly after the fight.

“Our plan was always to keep the distance, not follow Soto around. We saw that in the middle rounds he (Soto) got frustrated and tried to get Hekkie to lead.

“We didn’t want to walk into a big one because we knew Soto could pull it back with one big shot. He boxed according to plan, stayed off the ropes and was wary of the counter.”