Pedro Soto vs. Billy Douglas
Pedro Soto 180 lbs lost to Billy Douglas 175 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1976-02-06
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Referee: Petey Della 4-6
- Judge: Artie Aidala 6-7
- Judge: Bill Recht 5-7
"The night and the crowd belonged to light heavyweight Billy Douglas, a sheet metal worker from Columbus, Ohio, who appeared as a late substitute and upset Pedro Soto. The 35 year old Douglas made the most of his opportunity, withstanding numerous right hand bombs from Soto to knock down the 20 year old Puerto Rican in the 5th and 10th rounds to gain an unusual split decision on points. The MSG crowd of 8,435 was in an uproar throughout the bout. In the first four rounds, Soto dominated the action, often rocking Douglas back on his heels. But every time it seemed Douglas was about to go down, he would come roaring back. Then he hurt Soto with a left hook midway through the 5th round and a few seconds later dumped him with a right uppercut and two left hooks. Soto was up immediately and weathered the storm. Soto seemed to come back in the 6th round but Douglas was not to be denied. In the 10th round, Douglas knocked Soto down with a right-left-right combination eight seconds before the bell. Soto got up immediately, reeled around the ring and appeared out on his feet as the bell came to his rescue." -Associated Press
- Billy Douglas accepted the fight at 10:00 am Friday, the day of the fight after Soto's original opponent Tom Bethea came down with the flu.
- This bout was one of four 10 rounders on the MSG card. The main event was Duane Bobick vs. Larry Middleton and the other two was Vilomar Fernandez vs. Ray Lampkin and Saoul Mamby vs. Harold Weston.
Scorecards (NY rules allowed officials to use a supplemental points system for knockdowns or dominant rounds)
- Referee Petey Della - 5-4-1 Soto in rounds, but 6-4 Douglas on points.
- Judge Bill Recht - 5-5 even, but 7-5 Douglas on points.
- Judge Artie Aidala - 6-4 Soto in rounds, but 7-6 Douglas on points.
- Unofficial AP scorecard - 6-4 Soto (the AP refrained from using the supplemental points)