Kendall Holt

Infobox_Boxer


name = Kendall Holt
realname = Kendall Holt
nickname = Rated R
weight = Light welterweight
height = height|ft=5|in=9
nationality = flagicon|USA American
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|6|4
death_date =
birth_place = Paterson, New Jersey
home = Paterson, New Jersey
style = Orthodox
total = 26
wins = 24
KO = 13
losses = 2
draws = 0
no contests = 0

Kendall Holt (born June 4, 1981) is an American professional boxer and the WBO light welterweight champion.

Amateur career

Holt was a three-time New Jersey Golden Gloves champion.

Professional career

Holt made his professional debut in 2001 and won his first 15 fights, before he fought Gilberto Reyes on March 26, 2004. Holt viciously knocked out Reyes with a counter left hook that froze his opponent for a split second before he crashed face first to the canvas.

The sensational knockout garnered Holt the status of a rising prospect in the welterweight division, but Holt was surprising knocked out by Thomas Davis on June 18, 2004, at the DePaul Athletic Center in Chicago, Illinois. Holt was dominating the first round, when Davis dropped Holt to the canvas with a straight right hand. Holt got up, but was on unsteady legs as Davis landed three more strong blows down the middle including another punishing right cross to the chin. Holt crumbled to the canvas for the final time as the referee stopped the fight.

Holt won his next two fights in New Jersey, before moving down to light welterweight to take on 1996 US Olympian David Díaz on February 4, 2005, at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Holt caught Díaz with a whip-like left hook to the head followed by a sharp right hand that dropped him in round one along with opening a cut around his right eye. Diaz finally found the range in the seventh round and floored Holt with two right hands to the head. Holt survived the knockdown and in the next round, stunned Díaz with a blistering five-punch volley of left hooks and right hands to the face. Diaz retreated on wobbly legs; however, Holt continued to unload with both hands and connected with another sharp flurry of shots. The referee had seen enough and stopped the fight, awarding Holt an upset technical knockout victory.

In his next fight, Holt fought Jaime Rangel for the vacant WBO Intercontinental light welterweight title on May 27, 2005, in Pompano Beach, Florida. Just before the bell to end the opening round, Rangel dropped Holt with a right hook to the jaw and a counter left cross. Holt was up at the count of two and was able to shake of the effects of the knockdown. Holt regained his poise and landed the harder cleaner shots for the rest of the evening. Despite that Holt had convincing won the fight, he had to settle for a split decision victory as one judge gave the fight to Rangel.

After defeating Vladimir Khodokovski by unanimous decision, Holt fought Isaac Hlatswayo for the vacant WBO NABO light welterweight title on November 3, 2006 at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Holt went on to drop Hlatshwayo in rounds nine, eleven, and twelve to win by unanimous decision.

Holt fought Mike Arnaoutis in a WBO light welterweight title eliminator on April 20, 2007, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Holt dominated almost all of the exchanges with Arnaoutis and eventually dropped him in the final round with a riveting right hand to the jaw en route to a unanimous decision victory. the victory made Holt the mandatory challenger for WBO junior welterweight champion Ricardo Torres.

Torres-Holt Controversy

Holt fought Torres on September 1, 2007 in Barranquilla, Colombia. Holt was in command of the fight, knocking down Torres with a left-right combination in the sixth round. Holt was ahead of Torres on two of three scorecards entering the eleventh round, but Torres knocked down Holt with a vicious left hook, giving Torres a chance make a comeback in the fight. As Holt got up, fans began hurling full beer cans, bottles, cans of soda and water into the ring. Holt tried to hold on, run, and get through the round without taking more punishment by Torres. As Holt did not throw any punch back, the referee, Genaro Rodriguez, decided to stop the fight, so Holt did not take any more unnecessary punishment.

After the fight, Holt claimed that after he knocked Torres down in the sixth round, he was hit in the head with loaded beer cans. He also claimed that someone in Torres' corner reached through the ropes and grabbed Holt's leg during the eleventh round. Holt had a heated exchange with Rodriguez after the fight when they met in the Barranquilla Plaza Hotel. Holt shouted obscenities at Rodriguez for not giving a break in the action due to fans throwing objects in the ring, making the surface slippery. Darren Antola, Holt's cut man, was hit with a beer can to the back of his head as he prepared to head to the airport for his flight back to New Jersey. Ashema Evans, Holt's girlfriend, suffered a cut on her leg when fans began toppling tables in the VIP section to bum rush the ring. [ [http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=10138 Boxing News : Chaos in Colombia as Torres Stops Holt in Eleven ] ]

Later, Bob Arum of Top Rank, declared that Torres clearly won the fight and that Holt's claim are ungrounded. Billy Chams of Cuadrilátero stated in a press release that "The environment never turned dangerous, as Kendall Holt and his representatives seemed to imply to the press when they arrived to Miami last Sunday. They merely misinterpreted and confused an emotional and excessive joy display of the crowd that watched how his champion, after being closely behind in the scorecards, turned the fight over in round eleven and knocked down Holt. He was in a very bad shape and the referee acted wisely stopping the fight." [ [http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=12302&more=1 Cuadrilátero, Ricardo Torres' Promoter: "The Referee Should Have Stopped The Fight When Holt Was Severely Hit The First Time" ] ]

Patrick English, Holt's attorney, was bewildered by Arum’s evaluation of the controversial conclusion to the light welterweight title fight. “I’m very disappointed in (Arum) choosing to involve himself in this, mostly because he involved himself in a way that is inaccurate,” English said regarding Arum’s statements. [ [http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=10348 Boxing News : The Holt-Torres Controversy Continues ] ]

On September 18, 2007, The Kendall Holt camp completed a formal protest of the fight. The protest includes 35 pages of documentation including certifications by Holt, manager Henry Cortes and boxing writer Keith Idec, a report by Commissioner Larry Hazzard Jr., still photos, and video evidence. [ [http://www.fightnews.com/fightnews_2/headlines//EEApEpulZVwCElajMA.html Boxing News - Fightnews.com : EEApEpulZVwCElajMA ] ] On October 5, the WBO denied Holt's request for a reversal of the loss, citing that only the Colombian Boxing Commission can make such a ruling. The WBO also denied Holt's request for an immediate rematch, but will keep him high in the rankings in order to land another title shot in the future. [ [http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=10625 Boxing News : Kendall Holt's Protest Denied By The WBO ] ]

Return to the ring

In his first appearance since the fight with Torres, Holt fought Ben Tackie on February 7, 2008, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holt stayed away by using his movement as Tackie was unable to get off with his punches. He tried, but was just too slow for the much quicker Holt. Holt took no chances, as he stayed away and landed three-punch counters to every one-punch of Tackie. Holt went on to win by majority decision.

Torres-Holt II

On July 5, 2008, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Holt knocked out Ricardo Torres in a rematch that lasted just 61 seconds to win the WBO light welterweight title. The round was described by BoxingScene.com as the front runner for Round of the Year. Just 13 seconds into the fight, a right hand by Torres had Holt down on the canvas. Holt recovered but found himself on the canvas for the second time just seconds later. Holt got up and managed to land a left hook to the body, causing Torres to double over and have his head collide with Holt's head. Torres retreated backwards to the ropes, where he would stay for the remainder of the fight. Holt landed a right hand that knocked Torres down as he laid still on the bottom rope and was counted out by referee Jay Nady. [cite web
last =Donovan
first =Jake
title =Holt Knocks Out Torres in Round (and Minute) of the Year
publisher =BoxingScene.com
date =2008-07-06
url =http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=14814
accessdate =2008-07-06 ]

See also

*List of current world boxing champions
*List of light welterweight boxing champions
*List of WBO world champions

Notes and references

External links

*
* [http://www.docsports.com/boxing/kendall-holt.html Young Contenders - Kendall Holt] by Trever "DeuceDrop" Malagon, 25 October 2005, "Doc's Sports"