Kendall Holt
Encyclopedia
Kendall Holt is an American
professional boxer
fighting in the light welterweight
class. He is a one-time world champion, having held the WBO
junior welterweight championship from July 5, 2008 until April 5, 2009.
", during an evening of senseless violence and crime. This was discussed as a feature on Holt's Showtime Championship Boxing
bout with Timothy Bradley
on April 4, 2009. Holt was taken from his father while he was young due to child abuse, and was put into foster care.
Golden Gloves champion.
The sensational knockout garnered Holt the status of a rising prospect in the welterweight
division, but Holt was surprisingly 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.
's powerhouse Ricardo 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 to make a comeback in the fight. As Holt got up, fans began hurling full beer cans, bottles, cans of soda, ice, 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. Tapes of the bout support that claim. 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.
Later, Bob Arum
of Top Rank
, declared that Torres clearly won the fight and that Holt's claims 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."
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.
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. 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 kept him high in the rankings in order to land another title shot. This set up a rematch with Torres.
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.
in Las Vegas, Holt and Torres faced off in a rematch that lasted just 61 seconds. 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, while being castigated by Torres in the corner, managed to connect with a left hook and knocked Torres out.
An accidental clash of heads immediately preceded the knockout, however, and some attributed that to the knockout instead of the punch Holt threw.
in Atlantic City on December 14, 2008 and televised on ShoBox. However, a week before the fight Torres pulled out due to illness and Holt instead fought the undefeated Demetrius Hopkins
. Holt won the fight by split decision (116-112, 117-111, and 113-115).
The win set up a title unification match between WBO champion Holt and WBC super lightweight champion Timothy Bradley
.
. Holt knocked Bradley down in the first round and the twelfth round, but Bradley won a majority of the rounds in between and took a unanimous decision win (115-111, 114-112, and 115-111) to take Holt's WBO championship. In a post-fight interview Holt said he felt that he had not done enough to win the fight and called for a rematch, although it is unclear if that will happen.
Holt's record following the Bradley fight stands at 25-3 with 13 knockouts.
On March 10, 2010 in an IBF elimination bout against Kaizer Mabuza
, Holt was a heavy favorite to win the fight, but took a severe beating from his opponent and failed to come out of his corner for the sixth round. On January 29, 2011, Holt knocked out Lenin Arroyo at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan,
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional boxer
Professional Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
fighting in the light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
class. He is a one-time world champion, having held the WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
junior welterweight championship from July 5, 2008 until April 5, 2009.
Personal
Holt had a very tough up-bringing in Paterson, NJ. He was raised by his father after a difficult childhood, which culminated with his mother Debra Holt being convicted of killing a homeless man, dubbed as a "Thrill KillingThrill killing
A thrill killing is a term used to describe a premeditated murder committed by a person who is not necessarily suffering from mental instability, and does not derive sexual satisfaction from killing victims, or have anything against them, and sometimes do not know them, but is instead motivated by...
", during an evening of senseless violence and crime. This was discussed as a feature on Holt's Showtime Championship Boxing
Showtime Championship Boxing
Showtime Championship Boxing is a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month...
bout with Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
on April 4, 2009. Holt was taken from his father while he was young due to child abuse, and was put into foster care.
Amateur career
Holt was a three-time New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
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
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
division, but Holt was surprisingly knocked out by Thomas Davis on June 18, 2004, at the DePaul Athletic Center
DePaul Athletic Center
Sullivan Athletic Center is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Chicago, Illinois. The arena opened in 2000, replacing Alumni Hall. It is home to the DePaul University Blue Demons women's basketball team. It was formerly named 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
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
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
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
technical knockout victory.
In his next fight, Holt fought Jaime Rangel for the vacant WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
Intercontinental light welterweight title on May 27, 2005, in Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just to the north of Fort Lauderdale. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 99,845...
. 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
Bally's Atlantic City
Bally's Atlantic City is a luxury hotel and casino on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey that opened in 1979. It is one of the largest casinos on the boardwalk with nearly 2,000 rooms. Bally's is unique in that two of its four hotel towers are at least 80 years old. The Claridge Tower was...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. 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 I/ Controversy I
Holt fought ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
's powerhouse Ricardo Torres on September 1, 2007 in Barranquilla
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. 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 to make a comeback in the fight. As Holt got up, fans began hurling full beer cans, bottles, cans of soda, ice, 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. Tapes of the bout support that claim. 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.
Later, Bob Arum
Bob Arum
Robert "Bob" Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. He also worked for the US Attorney's Office for the southern district of New York in the tax division....
of Top Rank
Top Rank Boxing
Top Rank, Inc. is a Las Vegas based boxing promotion company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973. Since its founding, the company has promoted several world class fighters, such as Muhammad Ali, JI Penalver, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier,...
, declared that Torres clearly won the fight and that Holt's claims 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."
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.
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. 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 kept him high in the rankings in order to land another title shot. This set up a rematch with Torres.
Return to the ring
In his first appearance since the fight with Torres, Holt fought Ben TackieBen Tackie
Benjamin Wonder Tackie, , is a professional boxer. Tackie is known for his chin and his ability to throw a high volume of punches. All of his losses have come via decision.-Professional career:...
on February 7, 2008, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. 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/ Controversy II
On July 5, 2008, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and CasinoPlanet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, previously known as The Aladdin, is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip, in the unincorporated locale of Paradise, Nevada, United States. Westgate Resorts operates the condo portion of the property, known as PH Towers by Westgate.Planet Hollywood is owned by Caesars...
in Las Vegas, Holt and Torres faced off in a rematch that lasted just 61 seconds. 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, while being castigated by Torres in the corner, managed to connect with a left hook and knocked Torres out.
An accidental clash of heads immediately preceded the knockout, however, and some attributed that to the knockout instead of the punch Holt threw.
Holt vs. Hopkins
With controversy again surrounding their fights Holt and Torres signed for a rubber match, which was to be held at Boardwalk HallBoardwalk Hall
Boardwalk Hall, formally known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is an arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States...
in Atlantic City on December 14, 2008 and televised on ShoBox. However, a week before the fight Torres pulled out due to illness and Holt instead fought the undefeated Demetrius Hopkins
Demetrius Hopkins
Demetrius Hopkins is an American boxer who fought in the light welterweight division.-Career:As an amateur, Hopkins was the 1999 National Golden Gloves Light welterweight champion....
. Holt won the fight by split decision (116-112, 117-111, and 113-115).
The win set up a title unification match between WBO champion Holt and WBC super lightweight champion Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
.
Holt vs. Bradley
Holt and Bradley squared off in the unification bout on April 4, 2009 in Montreal's Bell CentreBell Centre
The Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
. Holt knocked Bradley down in the first round and the twelfth round, but Bradley won a majority of the rounds in between and took a unanimous decision win (115-111, 114-112, and 115-111) to take Holt's WBO championship. In a post-fight interview Holt said he felt that he had not done enough to win the fight and called for a rematch, although it is unclear if that will happen.
Holt's record following the Bradley fight stands at 25-3 with 13 knockouts.
On March 10, 2010 in an IBF elimination bout against Kaizer Mabuza
Kaizer Mabuza
Kaizer Mabuza is an South African professional boxer fighting in the light welterweight class.- Professional career :Kaizer Mabuza made his debut at lightweight and lost by TKO of the first round to future world champion, and fellow country man Isaac Hlatshwayo, who was also making his debut on...
, Holt was a heavy favorite to win the fight, but took a severe beating from his opponent and failed to come out of his corner for the sixth round. On January 29, 2011, Holt knocked out Lenin Arroyo at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan,
Troubles Outside the Ring
Holt's manager, Henry Cortes, became embroiled in legal troubles over drug deals he helped facilitate. Cortes was arrested in February 2009 on charges relating to those deals. Although Holt had not been implicated in those charges, he pled guilty to money laundering charges in April 2009 and admitted he had delivered money to Torres knowing that they were from drug transactions brokered by Cortes. Holt was put into a pretrial intervention program, with the expectation that the charges would be dropped upon completion. Holt successfully completed that program and the charges were dismissed.- List of current world boxing champions
- List of light welterweight boxing champions
- List of WBO world champions
External links
- Young Contenders - Kendall Holt by Trever "DeuceDrop" Malagon, 25 October 2005, Doc's Sports