11 Comments

Rated R For Revenge: Holt to Decision Torres

On September 8, 2007, Kendall "Rated R" Holt (23-2, 12 KOs) lost by technical knockout to Ricardo Torres (32-1, 28 KOs) in Barranquilla, Colombia for the WBO welterweight belt.  Barranquilla is a Caribbean port city with a storied tradition, tracing its origin back to 1629.  By the 1940s, the city declined due to widespread corruption. If you watch the 11th round of their first fight, you may wonder if that kind of corruption still exists.  I have seen worse fight stoppages, but considering the venue (Torres’s home country), the fact that the fight was close (Torres was losing on two judge’s scorecards heading into the 11th round), and that referee Geno Rodriguez did not seem impartial for most of the fight, the end of the fight wreaks of foul play.

Despite what I saw as foul play by the referee, Torres deserves a measure of credit for the ultimate outcome. He kept at Holt all night long despite being out-boxed for most rounds.  He was ultimately rewarded for his determination, courtesy of a beautiful counter left-hook that slumped Holt into the ropes in round 11.  After that knockdown, I thought the "R" in Holt’s nickname stood for running.  Because that is what he did up until the controversial stoppage a few seconds later.

Before he put on his running shoes, Holt was using his superior boxing skills and ring generalship to out-box the hard-hitting Torres.  I see no reason why that trend will not continue when they meet on Saturday.  The change of scenery, from Barranquilla, Colombia to Las Vegas, Nevada surely shouldn’t hurt Holt’s chances, but you didn’t hear that from me.  I am still a little shell-shocked since I incorrectly predicted that Arthur Abraham would lose to Edison Miranda in their rematch largely due to the fight location.  I’ll soon get over that, just not yet.

Kendall Holt UD 12 Ricardo Torres.

  • Email updates
  • RSS feed

Boxing Predictions
Unlimited boxing fight predictions for $19.99!

Boxing Magazines
Get great deals on the Ring & other magazines.
Boxing Video Games
Looking for the latest boxing video games? Look here.
Comments
Already 11 responses to this article
  1. Joe said on July 3rd, 2008

    Prepare to be shell-shocked again.
    Torres takes it on toughness.

    Reply
  2. Ja Dawson said on July 3rd, 2008

    Ahem Joe, please tell me how toughness alone will translate to victory…I’ll take skills and speed every time. Don’t get me wrong, Holt is not that great, and I could envision him losing, BUT Torres is not that good and I could envision him losing even more. lol

    Reply
  3. Joe said on July 4th, 2008

    Holt is “untough”. Bad chin and bad recovery. When he gets hurt Torres has a good chance to end it.

    Torres has, time after time, been rocked by flashier guys and returned to win.

    I reckon Torres has the advantage.

    Reply
  4. Ja Dawson said on July 5th, 2008

    Joe, so much for the bad recovery part of your description of Holt. :) I agree re: the bad chin, but Torres is at least his equal, if not even worse, in that area. I do think the inadvertent Holt head-butt stunned Torres initially though. To be fair, they should fight again. They have proven that based on their respective weak chins and weak defenses, ANYONE can win when they meet. In the end, I was not shell-shocked again Joe! :)

    Reply
  5. Joe said on July 6th, 2008

    Ok I was wrong this time, it was Holt who showed ability to get up.
    The event did not live up to the heading “No excuses”, as it left a clear excuse!

    Reply
  6. Ja Dawson said on July 6th, 2008

    I would like to see a rematch though. No excuses; it’s payback for the robbery in Colombia. A rubber match is needed.

    Reply
  7. Orlando said on July 8th, 2008

    forget these two clowns! there’s a kid coming up through the ranks who’s an absolute sensation. He’s from Caguas, PR and his name isn’t Miguel Cotto. It’s … Juanma!

    Reply
  8. Ja Dawson said on July 8th, 2008

    Juanma? Who’s that?!?

    Reply
  9. Orlando said on July 9th, 2008

    do your homework Ja then come holla

    Reply
  10. Orlando said on July 9th, 2008

    Juan Manuel Lopez … he’s the kid who annihilated Daniel Ponce De Leon on the Pavlik undercard … 22-0 with 20 KO’s

    Reply
  11. Ja Dawson said on July 9th, 2008

    I didn’t know he had such a soft nickname (my bad)! LOL He’s very good; but I’ll wait ’til I see a greater body of work before I am totally sold on him kid!

    Reply
Send a punch line
Leave a comment below...
How do I change my avatar?
Go to gravatar.com and upload your preferred avatar.

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the word.
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam word

Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our Privacy Policy. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Recent Comments
  • darren: I'm surprised there is no filipino's dissing Darchinyan. Vic is on a real roll at the moment. Having said that it's hard...
  • Jason: I'm gonna guess he is going to keep throwing an overhand right that ortiz cannot dodge and cut one eye, then later conti...
  • Joenotaplumber: Bob Sapp gets demolished by Lasley this weekend! And er, yeah ORTIZ...
  • boxinganalist777: Lol your saying that like Cotto is 35 years old or something he's only 28 & like I said before he's very talented &a...
  • boxinganalist777: Yes yes yes! Agreed! I would however not like to see Manuel Steward train Cotto id much rather see a Naseem Richardson (...
Latest Tweets
Featured Fight
SpringWidgets
Boxing Day Match Countdown
Boxing Day Match Countdown
Email Updates
  • Subscribe Form

    Sign up for weekly alerts.

Boxing Affiliates
Banner -<a href='http://sports.bodog.com/welcome/2088890/'>Online Sports Betting</a>at Bodog Sportsbook
Boxing Highlights
Poll Question

In the wake of his split decision win over Joshua Clottey, who would you like to see Miguel Cotto face next?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...