By Stuart Leland: In an exciting fight, which saw two knockdowns in the opening minute of action, Kendal Holt (24-2, 13 KOs) got off the canvas twice to stop WBO light welterweight champion Ricardo Torres (32-2, 28 KOs) in the 1st round of a scheduled 12-round title bout at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the opening bell, Torres, 28, rushed across the ring and tagged Holt with a couple of big shots. Just as Holt was beginning to pull away, however, he was nailed by a big right hand from Torres, sending him to the canvas.
Holt immediately got up, and looked to have started fighting a little too quickly, because he was hit twice more by Torres, and then knocked down a second time in the round by another big right hand from Torres. After receiving a standing eight count from referee Jay Nady, Holt was allowed to continue. Despite the two knockdowns, he looked to perfectly fine, as if he’d never been knocked down at all.
Torres, though, seemed to be under the impression that he was hurt, for he immediately punched on him, throwing wind milled punches, telegraphing many of them as he came charging forward. He missed a handful of punches at close range, but then walked into a big right hand from Holt that caused Torres to stagger backwards and fall to the bottom of the rope, where he hung there on the rope, in a crouched position, totally out cold. After seeing that he was completely out of it, Nady didn’t even bother counting and immediately waived off the fight at 1:01 of the 1st round.
For Holt, 27, he gains revenge for his earlier 11th round TKO loss last September in Colombia, a bout that appeared to have been stopped too early by the referee Genaro Rodriguez, who looked confused at what was going on in the ring at the time, with the crowd going crazy after a knockdown of Holt that had occurred moments earlier in the round. It’s doubtful that Holt would have been able to win the fight, however, given the momentum which seemed to be swinging in Torres’ favor at the time in the fight. This time out, Torres seemed to get ahead of himself, looking much too eager to score a quick knockout of Holt.
If Torres had remembered the first fight, in which he was dropped in the 6th round by Holt while attacking him on the ropes, he’d have perhaps been a bit more careful with Holt in the early rounds of the fight. Torres, however, seemed to let the excitement of the moment get to him and ran after Holt, a seasoned professional, as if he were an amateur.
As it turns out, he should have given him more leeway in the early rounds, letting him box, then gone after him in the latter part of the fight when Holt typically fades. This loss has to hurt Torres, who was so close to winning with the two knockdowns. If only he had stayed in control of his emotions and been more methodical, he’d probably still be the champion.
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