Holt Outpoints Hopkins!
Hands Hopkins First Loss...
December 13, 2008 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
Ringside Report:
Kurt Wolfheimer and
Andreas Hale
Photos:
Ed Mulholland
TO PURCHASE PHOTOS CLICK BELOW
Kendall "Rated R" Holt (25-3, 13 KO's) retained his WBO junior lightweight title on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey with a tactical split decision victory over late replacement Demetrius Hopkins (28-1-1, 11 KO's). The win sets the stage for a big match-up with WBC 140 pound champion Tim "Desert Storm" Bradley (23-0, 11 KO's).
NABF junior middleweight champion Yuri Foremen (27-0, 8 KO's) continued his way up the rankings with a one sided unanimous decision victory over "Irish" James Moore (16-2, 10 KO's) in the ten round co-feature of the evening which was televised live Showtime's popular boxing series "ShoBox: The New Generation."
The original opponent Ricardo Torres had to pull out of the highly anticipated rubber match of a thrilling trilogy due to an illness in camp the left Holt without an opponent. In stepped Demetrius Hopkins who was originally scheduled to fight Germane Sanders in an under-card bout.
The elusive Hopkins presented a much different style and a well-known opponent for Holt, who had originally trained for a war with the hard punching Torres.
It was a tactical fight right from the opening bell. Each fighter had their moments in the opening round. Hopkins peppered Holt from the outside with his jabs, but Holt landed a big right hand when Hopkins got caught against the ropes.
Holt became frustrated with Hopkins' movement and small counter punching in round two as he dropped his hands and motioned him in. Hopkins did not take the bait and continued to wait for a couple well-placed counters.
Faced with chasing his elusive opponent, Holt began to work the body in the fourth while Hopkins landed a few small counters while circling the ring as if on a bicycle.
Each fighter did not want to fall into the other fighter's game plan and the fight became methodical and slow as neither landed any real telling shots. Holt would not get frustrated though and continued with his bodywork.
Holt tried land a series of blows against Hopkins in the fifth, but the elusive Philadelphia slipped the flurries and danced his way out of the corner.
He went up top in round six with many hooks which Hopkins ducked under most which made the round a virtual clinch fest late. Holt's pressure and landed shots appeared to capture the round.
Holt finally connected a big counter left on the chin early in round six that temporarily buckled the knees of Hopkins, who began to cover and clinch. The hard-punching Holt was still wary of the counters from his opponent and cautiously attacked which allowed Hopkins to regain his composure.
The pace quickened again in round nine as Holt landed a tight four-punch combination as both traded heavily for the first time in the fight. Hopkins continued to counter effectively as the round concluded. Holt also placed several good popping jabs.
The rounds ten and eleven were very tactical, as both fighters became careful not to get caught with counters from the each other.
Holt, the aggressor through most of the earlier portion of the fight, looked to be a little ahead going into the final round. It showed as he methodically threw safe jabs and backed away late in the round.
Hopkins landed a big right in the closing seconds, which was probably his best blow of the fight, but Holt was able to move away and the bell sounded to end the fight.
The scores were all over the place. Judge Julie Lederman had it 115-113, but she was overruled as judges Luis Rivera and Alan Rubenstein scored it 117-111 and 116-112 in favor of Kendall "Rated R" Holt. FightNews scored the bout 115-112 in favor of Holt.
"I feels good to get the win no matter how it came about," Said Holt afterwards. "I had lost to him in the amateurs and that was very disappointing at the time, but to win now as a pro is satisfying and even more important for my boxing career. Every win is a step toward my goal, which is to unify the titles. I did not feel the bout was that close. I thought maybe He got two rounds. That was it. It was just a mentally challenging fight."
Demetrius Hopkins was also satisfied with his performance though not the outcome. "I thought I did well for such a long layoff." said Hopkins. "I felt I controlled the fight with my jabs and movement. I had most of the rounds and easily won the fight." -- Kurt Wolfheimer
Holt vs Hopkins Photos
Foreman Decisions Moore!
In the evening's co-feature, Yuri Foreman retained his NABF junior middleweight championship as he easily dispatched of James Moore by unanimous decision in their ten round fight.
With the Irish contingency flooding the Boardwalk Hall with support, Moore looked to harness that energy and upend the undefeated champion. Unfortunately for the Irishman, Foreman didn't even crack the window of opportunity.
From the outset, Foreman's speed in both his hands and feet caused significant problems for Moore. Early in the contest, Foreman (27-0, 8 KO's) would stick his opponent with straight right hands at will. By the time Moore would look to counter, Foreman would bound away and present no target to punch at. The first three rounds featured the same repetitive cycle of Moore giving chase and getting stuck with a jab or smacked with an overhand right.
It appeared that Foreman may have wanted to take his opponent out at the start of round five as he clobbered the Irishman with three consecutive overhand rights to begin the round. But if Foreman's 8 knockouts in his previous 26 contests were any indication, he would not pose too much of a threat to knockout Moore.
The Irish were clearly alarmed by Moore's lack of being able to get inside, but their support never wavered as renditions of Ricky Hatton's "Hatton Wonderland" were sung injecting Moore's name. Moore (16-2, 11 KO's) would be briefly energized in round six after he finally figured out he could land a punch. He did so with a right hand and a sustained attack that gave his fans some hope going into round seven.
That hope would quickly be smeared away by Foreman striking away with the same pattern, with even greater success, at the beginning of round seven. The trend continued in round eight as Foreman slipped several left jabs between Moore's gloves and shot a left hook to the side of his opponents head.
Although Moore was never in danger of being stopped, he certainly never appeared to be in the fight. During the final three rounds, Moore resigned to watching Foreman hop around endlessly while eating a couple of jabs and straight right hands.
Moore no longer gave chased and watched as time evaporated and the forgone conclusion was read from the judges scorecards. One judge scored it a complete shutout (100-90) while the other two judges had it 99-90 and 99-91. -- Andreas Hale
Foreman vs Moore Photos
Korobov Wallops Wahl!
Hard hitting Russian middleweight Matt Korobov (2-0, 2 KO's) looked impressive dropping an outclassed Jason Wahr (1-2-2) three times, en-route to a big first round knockout.
The powerful Korobov looked like a surgeon, connecting with almost everything he threw right from the opening bell. Wahr, of Virginia Beach, VA tried to trade, but a body shot followed by an overhand right sent to his knees. Wahr rose and retreated as Korobov continued the assault. Three more overhand rights from Korobov put him back to the canvas the second time. Korobov knew he was hurt and finished him with a big left on the button, which sent him to the canvas like a falling redwood tree. The bout was declared a TKO victory for Korobov at 2:52 of the opening round. Š Kurt Wolfheimer
Diaz Decisions Gutierrez!
Jorge Diaz remained unbeaten as he defeated Saul Gutierrez by unanimous decision in six-round bantamweight action. Gutierrez may have collected his 14th loss in 22 fights, but his record would prove to be quite deceptive as he was much more game then Diaz probably expected. Diaz (7-0, 5 KO's) relied on his activity to steamroll Gutierrez but the Mexican was not going to become an easy sparing session.
Diaz would come out with his guns blazing early as his offensive output has become his signature. But Gutierrez, who has been in the ring with the likes of Christian Mijares and Abner Mares, weathered the storm and came back strong in the second round.
Gutierrez (6-14-2, 2 KO's) would slip in hard counters between Diaz' three and four punch combinations that clearly shook the Jersey City fighter. Realizing that Gutierrez would not be easy deterred, Diaz was resigned to trying to out work his opponent over the duration of the fight. Gutierrez appeared to land the harder punches but he just couldn't seem to sustain a work rate that could claim the later rounds.
Diaz would come on strong in the sixth round and punctuated his victory with a beautiful left right combination to the head that staggered his opponent. One judge scored the bout 58-56 while two others gave Diaz a 60-54 shutout. -- Andreas Hale
Chavez Stops Carden!
In super lightweight action, the other son of Julio Cesar Chavez showed why he was nicknamed "The Businessman" as Oscar Chavez made short work of the extremely overmatched Brian Carden it the super lightweight matchup. Chavez (13-0-1, 10 KO's) was all business from the opening bell as he dominated Carden from the outset.
A right hand to the head and left hook to the body combination would be the winning formula as Chavez repeatedly scored with combo. Carden (8-7, 6 KO's) tried valiantly to keep Chavez off of him, but in the end the series of punches was brutal enough for referee Sparkle Lee to call a halt to the fight at 1:50 in round one. -- Andreas Hale
Tapia Stops Smith!
In his professional debut, Glenn Tapia looked stellar as he dropped Edward Smith three times and ultimately stopped him at 1:00 in the second round of their super welterweight match-up.
The kid from Patterson, NJ looked a bit tentative in the first as he and Smith felt each other out early with Smith being the aggressor. Smith's aggression would eventually catch up with him in the second round.
As the bell sounded, Tapia (1-0, 1 KO) appeared to be a different fighter who understood his opponent and his tendencies. Tapia would catch Smith (1-2, 1 KO) coming in with a right hook to the side of the head early in the round that sent Smith tumbling to the mat.
Smith would rise but was clearly on shaky legs as Tapia wasted no time sending him down again with another right hand. Although Smith would stagger to his feet, there was too much time on the clock and Tapia would catch him lunging in with a short right that dropped him for the third and final time. -- Andreas Hale
Muhammad Stops Valadez!
Atlantic City's own undefeated super flyweight Qaid Muhammad (4-0, 4 KO's) kept his perfect record intact with third round stoppage of Julio Valadez. It wasn't easy though as Muhammad had to get off the canvas to stop the very game Valadez of San Antonio Texas.
Both fights tried to gain control in the opening stanza with vicious exchanges. Muhammad, known for his unbelievable hand speed, appeared to be winning the battle even though he was tagged by some good counter right hands from Valadez. Just when it looked like Muhammad was in control, he was stood up by a straight left and dropped to the canvas with a right hand.
Qaid regained his composure in the second round and even hurt Valadez with a straight right. He continued to apply constant pressure throughout. The bout appeared to get rough on the inside as Muhammad sported a swollen left eye and Valadez also a cut above his left eye from an accidental head-butt. Blood streamed down the face of Valadez in the closing seconds as Muhammad continued to attack with furious combinations.
By round three, Julio Valadez was on the retreat from the heavy combinations of Muhammad. With his back against the ropes, Valadez tried to trade with Muhammad, but a well place left up top, followed by a right hand just above the waistline sent him to the canvas. Valadez rose to his feet, but remained bent over and the Muhammad was declared the winner by knockout at 2:18 of round three.
"He stunned me in the first with a left and knocked me down with a right hand, but I showed that if you knock me down, you are not going to get way with it," said a satisfied Muhammad afterward. "My game plan was to get inside and stop him with body shots to the left, but I switched up and finished him with a shot to the right side of the body.
His manager also had a keen game plan going in. "I told them at the weigh-in that I did not want them to take a picture of the two together because Qaid had a temper. So by me telling them that, I knew they would do things to get Qaid mad. The only way that he could get Qaid angry was form him to get inside, hold and head-butt, so we set them up. We worked on the body attacks from the left side because we noticed Valadez's last opponent hurt him a lot with left body shots. Qaid went against the game plan, but he was successful in stopping him with a right body shot." -- Kurt Wolfheimer
Mejias batters Rhodes!
Two hundred thirty-eight pound Puerto Rican heavyweight, Alex Mejias (9-1, 4 KO's) used his superior hand speed to overcome a hundred pound weight difference and eventually stopped a game but over matched three hundred forty-five pound Michael Rhodes (3-4-3, 1 KO) in the fifth round of their scheduled six round bout.
Mejias opened early in the fight with small combinations and movement, which held Rhodes to limited opportunities to return anything of damage. Rhodes, sporting a keg like midriff, hung in there and actually found a home for a couple of good right hands as the action slowed in round four.
Mejias was just too fast and stayed in control with pinpoint shots. Rhodes switched to southpaw in round five in an effort to solve the hand speed of Mejias. It would be his downfall though, as Alex Mejias stunned him with a right upper cut. Mejias immediately rained down a series of uppercuts and left-right combinations as Rhodes covered against the ropes. Referee David Franciosi had seen enough and called a halt to the bout as Rhodes turned away and hung over the ropes, clearly beaten at 1:53 of the fifth round. -- Kurt Wolfheimer
No CD...No Problem for Ring Announcer!
Ring announcer Joe Antonacci received quite a surprise during last Friday's ShoBox: The New Generation telecast on Showtime. When the well known ring announcer asked the crowd to rise for the playing of the National Anthem, he had no idea what was about to happen. When the official Air Force song, "Wild Blue Yonder" began playing, Antonacci joked to the crowd that immediately following the tribute to the United States Air Force, the national anthem would be played.
Then, after a few moments of silence, Antonacci glanced up to the sound booth only to see the exasperated sound man signal that he didn't have the correct track after all. Thinking quickly, Antonacci turned to the crowd and stated, "Hey, we're all Americans here…we don't need a CD to sing our national anthem," and with that, Antonacci led the entire crowd of 3000 fans in Atlantic City’s historic Boardwalk Hall in a rousing rendition of Francis Scott Key's most famous composition.
As the crowd, led by Antonacci from the ring, finished the final notes a thunderous round of applause got the night of world championship boxing action off to an emotional start. Asked afterwards for a comment, Antonacci stated he received many compliments on his anthem heroics. "I'm just glad I remembered all the words. It's probably a good thing that I didn't have time to think about it and get nervous," said the smiling Antonacci, "The crowd was just great, thank God they came through and sang along, because no one would have wanted to hear me perform a solo." -- Ed Mulholland
