Junior middleweight Neeco “The Rooster” Macias, who recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions, will take on Jesus Soto Karass in a fight between brawlers at different stages of their careers Nov. 8 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, Golden Boy announced Monday.
The scheduled 10-round bout will headline the final Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN card (ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, 11 p.m. ET). Golden Boy’s two-year deal with ESPN for the series is expiring at the end of the year and it was not renewed.
Macias (18-0, 11 KOs), 27, of Lancaster, California, is an exciting fighter on the rise who throws punches virtually non-stop. In his most recent fight, a sixth-round knockout victory against then-undefeated Marvin Cabrera on Sept. 1, Macias threw a CompuBox junior middleweight-record 219 punches in the fifth round. It was that victory and the extremely fan-friendly way he fought that earned him a contract with Golden Boy Promotions.
“I just want to prove to Golden Boy Promotions that I’m going to work hard, learn and bring some great fights to Golden Boy cards in the future,” Macias said. “Fighting a great fighter like Soto Karass is so amazing. I have to do all the preparation I did for past fights and more. Training hard is automatic in my preparation for fights, but now it’s a must to train harder than ever.”
The faded veteran Soto Karass (28-13-4, 18 KOs), 36, a Mexico native fighting out of Los Angeles, has been in numerous action-packed battles but is way past his best days. He has lost three fights in a row, is 0-5-1 in his past six and will be coming off a one-year layoff almost to the day. But having faced numerous top opponents, including Marcos Maidana, Keith Thurman, Devon Alexander and Andre Berto (whom he defeated), Soto Karass will be by far Macias’ most notable opponent.
After suffering an eighth-round knockout loss to Juan Carlos Abreu in his most recent fight, last Nov. 2, also on a Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN card, Soto Karass sounded as though he was done boxing. But now he’s back against a young, hungry opponent for at least one more fight.
“I’m grateful to Golden Boy Promotions for everything it has given me,” Soto Karass said. “I thank my fans and the boxing family for welcoming me into their homes and hearts. I won’t be leaving the sport of boxing. I’ll continue as a coach or manager. Neeco Macias will be facing a great veteran, a warrior who always gives everything in the ring. We will see what this ‘Rooster’ is made of on Nov. 8.”
In the co-feature, Los Angeles featherweight prospect Manny Robles III (16-0, 8 KOs) will defend his regional belt in a 10-round bout against Jose Gonzalez (23-6, 13 KOs), of Mexico.
In another televised bout, Irish welterweight prospect Aaron McKenna (5-0, 3 KOs), 19, will face Abel Reyes (4-1, 4 KOs), 24, of Mexico, in a six-round fight.