This was supposed to be an easy showcase for WBC super feathweight champ Humberto Soto. Benoit Gaudet was anything but a patsy. The Quebec-native gave Soto a good fight for eight rounds but when he tried to mix it up more in the ninth round, he got caught.

Soto floored Gaudet with a huge right uppercut with 1:13 left in the round. When Gaudet got up, he still wasn't all there. Soto landed a thunderous left-right combination that left Gaudet prone on the ropes. Gaudet's hands dropped. He was a sitting duck. As referee Jay Nady was jumping in, Soto knocked him down for the second time in the round with a grazing left. The fight was stopped at 2:25 giving Soto his second successful title defense at 130 pounds.

The fight was relatively even by the punch stats with Soto (48-7, 31 KOs) outlanding Gaudet 159 to 111. Soto landed the harder shots and was more accurate at 36-percent versus 21-percent. Soto was leading on two cards 80-71 and 78-73 but losing on another 76-75. Gaudet (20-2, 7 KOs) earned himself another pay-per-view appearance down the road with his effort.

Follow Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole ringside (twitter.com/kevini).

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