By Eric Thomas: Fighting for the first time since December of 2011, IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) blasted out former WBO light welterweight champion Kendall Holt (28-6, 16 KO’s) in the 8th round on Friday night at the DC Armory, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
The fight was halted by referee Tony Weeks at 1:42 of the 8th round after Peterson hurt Holt with a right hand and then flurried on him as he stood trying to cover up on the ropes. Peterson dropped Holt twice in the fight, once in the 4th and another time in the 6th.
Holt surprisingly started off fighting really well in the first three rounds, hitting the slower Peterson with jabs, left hooks and hard right hands. There wasn’t much action in the first round, but Peterson seemed to get the better of Holt just by jabbing.
In rounds two and three, Holt opened up with fast right hands and left hooks that caught Peterson and again. Peterson looked unsure of himself and uncomfortable with the speed of Holt.
In the 4th, Holt started really opening up with his power shots in the first half of the round, and things were looking bad for Peterson. However, Peterson suddenly came alive after nailing Holt with a big left hook to the head that got the crowd’s attention.
Peterson continued to walk forward blasting away at a now backing up Holt with punch after punch. Near the end of the round, Peterson dropped Holt with a left hook to the head. Holt got up and the fight continued, but Peterson staggered Holt in final seconds of the round with a left-right combination.
In the 5th, Peterson hurt Holt with a hard left hook to the body that had Holt holding on. He literally wouldn’t let go even when referee Tony Weeks was trying to pry him off of Peterson. Weeks then gave Holt a warning not to do that again.
Holt fought reasonably well in the 6th round until getting backed up to the ropes late in the round. Peterson then put Holt down on one knee from a flurry of shots with only seconds remaining in the round.
In the 7th round, Holt stayed on the move the entire time, jabbing and keeping away from Peterson. It worked pretty well until late in the round when Peterson caught Holt against the ropes again and flurried on him. The referee Weeks looked like he was on the verge of stopping it, but he let it continue and the round ended. Holt looked ready to go at that point, and he just wasn’t fighting smart.
Holt stayed on the move in the 8th round, and he looked like he was going to be able to escape the round until he retreated to the ropes for a last stand. Peterson then flurried on him until referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight.
After the fight, Peterson said “Danny Garcia holds the WBC light welterweight title. I’d like to make that fight.”
Holt said “If I mixed it up more. I just didn’t pull the trigger. If I can’t get a little busier than I’m going to need to hang it up.”
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