Ben Bonner stunned Tony ‘Loco’ Soto in the BKFC 76 headliner on Saturday night to capture the interim lightweight championship.
Less than a minute into the first, Bonner caught Soto with a left hand that sat the former BKFC titleholder down. Soto quickly got back to his feet and made out out of the round despite absorbing some vicious body blows from the Brit.
Soto hit the mat a second time in the second stanza, but the referee was quick to rule it a sleep, allowing the action to continue uninterrupted. However, Bonner landed a hard right hand with 10 seconds to go in the round, sending Soto to the canvas once again. While it was ruled a knockdown, Soto appeared to disagree with the ruling. Regardless, referee Dan Miragliotta issued a standing eight-count, and the fight continued.
Suffering two knockdowns, Soto knew that he needed to turn it up.
Bonner appeared to lose some steam in the third, prompting Soto to turn up the heat and unleash a bevy of brutal strikes against the ropes. That trend continued in the fourth as Bonner’s strikes started to look increasingly labored. Bonner could barely keep his hands up, but he managed to make it out of the fourth, practically collapsing against the ropes between rounds.
Soto went headhunting in the fifth and final round, but he was unable to find the knockout blow, sending us to the scorecards to determine who will become the new BKFC interim lightweight world champ.
Official Result: Ben Bonner def. Tony Soto via unanimous decision (49-46, 47-46, 48-45)
