Kendall Holt

Holt Decisions Tackie, Bores Crowd

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holt35322424443.jpgBy John Dower: Making his first appearance since losing by a controversial 11th round stoppage in a title match against World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Ricardo Torres last September 1st, Kendall Holt (23-2, 12 KOs) won a dull 10-round majority decision over journeyman fighter Ben Tackie (29-9-1, 17 KOs) on Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holt, 25, ranked #2 in the WBO light welterweight division, was hoping to look impressive, and make a case for himself for a potential rematch with Torres.

However, it didn’t end up that way, for Holt, like usual, fought mostly cautious during most of the action, fighting off his back foot, constantly clinching and fighting economically. The final judges’ scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 95-95. The last score, 95-95, seemed way off base as far as I’m concerned, because Holt, as boring a fighter as he is, seemed to have won virtually every round except for one, the 7th, when Tackie uncharacteristically let his hands go a bit more than in the other rounds of the fight. Nevertheless, Holt did little to make a case for himself in terms of redeeming his name since his last fight, as he mostly stood back, posing and pot-shotting the slow, plodding Tackie.

Holt Files Protest With WBO

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holt463_01.jpgLight welterweight Kendall Holt has filed an official protest to the WBO asking for a rematch with WBO light welterweight champion Ricardo Torrez (32-1, 28 KOs), who defeated Holt by 11th round TKO earlier this month on September 1st at the Salon Jumbo del Country Club, in Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia. Ostensibly, Holt feels that the ring was unsafe in the 11th round of the fight, immediately after Torres knocked Holt down with a scorching left hook, at which point the fans began to throw beer and water into the ring, making the canvas slick and traction difficult.

Though Holt was never seen to have slipped during the round, they still feel that the ring was made unsafe and therefore the bout should be ruled as a “no contest,” meaning that the fight wouldn’t count on Holt’s record, and they would have to fight one more. Also, Holt states further that he was hit in the eye in the sixth round by a can, and it made it difficult to see. This occurred immediately after Holt had knocked Torres down and had him badly hurt in the round. Based on reports, the WBO will make a decision within 10 days, letting them know at that time whether they will grant Holt’s request.

Holt-Torres: The Final Word

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holt-torres23222.jpgIn the past few days, I’ve read countless reports from posters in various boxing site forums about the outcome of the WBO light welterweight championship bout between title holder Ricardo Torres (32-1, 28 KOs) and #1 challenger Kendal Holt (22-2, 12 KOs), most of which is centered on the fact that the figh was stopped too soon in the 11th round, suggesting that Holt should have been permitted to continue fighting longer by referee Genero Rodriguez.

However, having seen the entire fight – and not just clips – I’m fully convinced that the referee did the right thing by stopping the fight the fight in the 11h round. If anything, I think he should have stopped the fight earlier, after Holt got up after having been knocked down by a howitzer of a left hook by Torres at 0:58 of the 11th round. At that time, after Holt got to his feet, he was staggering and unable to stand straight without listing from side to side. To make things worse, as the referee was asking him if he was okay, Holt staggered bag, leaning against the ropes for support.