Holt Files Protest Over Loss to Torres

Following his heartbreaking 11th round TKO loss to WBO welterweight champion Ricardo Torres (32-1, 28 KOs) on Saturday night at the Salon Jumbo del Country Club, Barranquilla, Atlantico, in Colombia, WBO # 1 challenger Kendal Holt is filing a protest to the WBO. Based on reports from ringside, Holt was apparently pelted with a can of unopened beer tagging Holt in the head shortly after knocking Torres down in the sixth round of their bout on Saturday night. Also, there were reports that Holt had been grabbed on the ankle by a fan that had reached through the ring ropes during the fight. During the 11th round, the canvas was littered with debris, making it difficult for the fighters to fight without tripping over the items, reports state.

Holt, 26, was leading on two of the three ringside judge’s scorecards at the time of the knockout in the 11th round. In the round, Torres, 27, from Colombia, caught Holt with a devastating one-two combination that badly hurt him and sent him to the canvas.

However, it appeared that the referee Genaro Rodriguez did the correct thing at the time considering the fact that Holt was getting unloaded on with massive artillery from Torres, a fighter widely considered to the the most powerful puncher in the light welterweight division, and seemingly out on his feet from the massive punches he had absorbed. Holt wasn’t helped by the fact that the fight wasn’t shown in the United States, due to HBO and Showtime not wanting to pick up the fight for showing to nation wide audiences.