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Kendall Holt Says He’s Not On A Slide, Will Prove It At 147

Published

11 years ago

March 12, 2013

It has been a point of pride for Kendall Holt (seen above in a 2011 losing effort to Danny Garcia) that he started out as a junior welter when he turned pro in 2001, and he’s basically stayed in that lane for the last 12 years. Indeed, that shows impressive self discipline, and Holt, a 31-year-old Paterson, NJ boxer, deserves praise for his continuity. But he’s come to the realization that his body is no longer suited to 140. Actually, he sort of came to that conclusion a few years ago, but it took a TKO8 loss to Lamont Peterson on Feb. 22 to cement the flip of the switch.

“Making 140 was difficult,” he told TSS. “I was in a sauna, in a steam room for three hours at a time, off and on, including on the morning of the weigh in for the Peterson fight. The weight was not coming off at all.”

He said that as far back as April 2009, when he fought Tim Bradley, he contemplated the move to welterweight. But he wasn’t armed with the knowledge, about cutting weight the right way, and re-hydrating properly, so he stuck with what he knew. “I wasn’t groomed to be a star, I didn’t have “the” people advising me, telling me what to eat, to take this supplement,” he continued. “I got to where I am on pure talent, because I can fight. I’ve been at 140 since 1998!”

He talked to Roy Jones last year and figured out that he’d never rehydrated properly. “I thought Gatorade was enough,” he said. Holt didn’t want to share Jones’ preferred method of rehydrating, but said that he now knows that by only gaining five or so pounds after weigh in, he wasn’t oftentimes on the same playing field as his foes. On fightnight against Peterson, he told me, he came to the DC Armory feeling weak in the legs. “I thought it was maybe nerves, I thought maybe I needed to stretch my legs,” he said. Looking back, he knows he was weight drained, and that affected his stamina. In fights in which he was allowed to come in over 140, against Julio Diaz and Tim Coleman, in 2011 and 2012, he said he felt better. “In other fights, my early rounds haven’t been a problem. I’m taking the early rounds. If I could sustain it, that would be perfect.”

So, if people are looking at your Boxrec, and see you’re 3-3 in your last six, they shouldn’t think you’re on an irreversible slide? “No, you haven’t seen the last of me,” Holt said. “Watch me closely, I will feel stronger and faster and won’t have to kill myself to make 140.”

Holt knows how the game works. He’ll likely get calls for young guns at 147, looking to take out a name guy, looking for a vet on a slide.

“We shouldn’t have problems getting fights. I know the phones gonna ring, they gonna be disappointed,” he said. “I’m not on a slide.”

You get a lot of Internet tough guys, perma critics, oftentimes guys who just feed off of real reporters and exist to make that next snide, snarky comment, the blogger brigade, who like to take shots at a guy like Holt. Think they ponder the fact that he’s a single dad, to 9-year-old Keshon and 8-year-old Jaden, and that he’s fighting to put food on their table, and looking to bank some for their educations? I’m hoping for those kids that dad is able to transition to welterweight…

Holt says that one and all can see for themselves how the move to 147 serves him, soon. He expects to fight in April or May, and he’s not looking to take a “get back on the horse” fight. “I’m not damaged, I’m back in the gym, my mind is clear, I’m speaking clearly. I’m still Kendall “Rated R” Holt, I don’t back down, I lay backs down.”

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Michael Woods

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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