Humberto Soto to return on October 11

Mexican star Humberto Soto will return to the ring on October 11 against countryman Gamaliel Diaz for the vacant WBC junior lightweight title, reports BoxingScene.com.

The 28-year old Soto (44-7-2, 28 KO) hasn't fought since being robbed of the same vacant title in June, when he destroyed Francisco Lorenzo but was disqualified by referee Joe Cortez for hitting Lorenzo while he was down.

As much as I thought the WBC for once made a defensible move by refusing to recognize Lorenzo as their champion, this matchup with Diaz (23-7-2, 10 KO) is as see-through as a TV mobster's socks.

Diaz, 27, fought on September 6 in Tijuana, knocking out Juan Vazquez in Vazquez's first professional fight. Diaz has campaigned at featherweight the majority of his career, and exclusively since 2005. He should be no challenge for Soto, or at least you'd think not on paper. I'm not saying Diaz can't fight a little, but he's hardly top-tier, especially with a weight jump.

Diaz, in short, has no business fighting for any world title, and this fight is being gifted to Soto so that he can "earn" the title, but in reality this is just the WBC handing him their trinket because (1) he's Mexican and (2) he's arguably the best fighter his division has to offer anymore.