[Video] Soro Ruins Tapia’s Homecoming, Scores 4th Round TKO

Not making weight shows a lack of discipline…If you don’t have a good beard, you’re not made for this game. Ray Mancini

NEWARK, New Jersey — “The Jersey Boy” Glen Tapia’s return home quickly became a nightmare via the sharp-shooting Frenchman Michel Soro, who scored a fourth round stoppage before Tapia’s stunned fans at the Prudential Center.

Tapia, who needed two tries to make the light middleweight limit yesterday after initially weighing 155, appeared lethargic from the outset with lumbering punch technique and plodding legs. Soro took immediate advantage by keeping Tapia off-balance with his snapping jab and utilized counter uppercuts and right hands when Tapia did get inside.

A right cross badly hurt Tapia at the minute mark of the fourth. Tapia remained upright on unsteady legs, allowing Soro to blast him with repeated power shots. This forced the referee to stop it as Tapia fell helplessly into the ropes.

The stoppage was Soro’s third straight in 2015. Tapia, who vowed to return, saw his three fight win and KO streak snapped.

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Fellow light middleweight contender Julian “J Rock” Williams thinks that Tapia is done mentally. I won’t go that far yet, but this does show that Tapia’s ceiling isn’t as high as some wanted to believe. Top Rank and others were hoping that Tapia’s Tri-State roots and good looks could translate into a future star. The Jersey Boy still has the goods to be a contender, but his skill set isn’t strong enough for the elite.

Some are claiming the Kirkland fight took a lot of him, but last night weight issues appeared to be the real problem. In his previous bout, Tapia looked just fine against Dawson. True, Dawson is well past it, but everything about Tapia looked off last night. He’s only 25, so we’ll see if he does have another run in him.