Holt Wins Via Split Decision

It was much closer than expected.

WBO junior-welterweight champion Kendall Holt appeared to dominate his 12-round fight with Demetrius Hopkins early Sunday morning at Boardwalk Hall's Adrian Phillips Ballroom, but was forced to settle for a split decision victory.

Judges Luis Rivera (117-111) and Alan Rubenstein (116-112) both favored Holt, as did The Press (118-110). Judge Julie Lederman, much to the surprise of most ringside observers - save for the dozen or so that were sitting near Hopkins' corner - scored the fight for Hopkins (115-113).

"I was shocked because I thought maybe he won two rounds," Holt said. "But we are kind of on mutual ground here, so I shouldn't have really been surprised. Champions overcome adversity."

With the victory, Holt (25-2, 13 KOs), from Paterson, set the stage for a unification fight early next year against WBC champion Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif. Hopkins (28-1-1, 11 KOs) headed back to Philadelphia with his first loss and the frustration of not being able to capitalize on his chance to become the champion. full story

Preview - Holt vs Hopkins Trilogy

The highly-anticipated rubber match in the Torres-Holt Trilogy has been temporarily put on hold and in it's place, fight fans will be treated to the less-than-appetizing title match between Kendall Holt and Demetrius Hopkins, nephew of ageless ring legend, Bernard Hopkins. Despite claims of being ill in his native Colombia and being well-above the 140 lb. weight limit, Torres' last minute bailout has cast a damper on perhaps the most widely-anticipated bout of 2008. While Hopkins is a more than capable replacement, he's sure to provide far fewer fireworks than the explosive Torres. The 'Seek and Destroy' style of the Colombian bomber has endeared him to fans worldwide, in a division that hasn't seen many fan-friendly fights since the days of Julio Caesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor. Let's hope that Holt-Hopkins provides at least one-tenth the excitement as Chavez-Taylor I.

Analysis: Everyone remembers the controversy surrounding the first fight between Holt and Torres and nearly just as many fans recall the first round savagery of their rematch. Much of the action of the first bout was controlled by Holt, and heading into the eleventh round, it was clear that Torres needed a knockout to avert defeat in front of his hometown fans...


Prediction: It's hard to imagine this matchup producing the type of twists, turns and all-out chaos witnessed in the first two Holt-Torres bouts, but the Bradley-Witter bout for the WBC title earlier this year engendered the same type of disinterest. Bradley shocked the boxing establishment and emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the junior-welterweight division and his successful title defense against Edner Cherry did little to dispel that feeling. The questions entering this fight primarily concern Hopkins, not Holt. Holt is the known commodity with known strengths, while Hopkins' profile is almost impossible to decipher. How can a fighter with twenty-nine professional fights and an undefeated record be so unknown to not only the boxing public, but within his own division, as well? Examination of Hopkins' previous opponents reveals very few familiar names. Was Uncle Bernard trying to bring his nephew along slowly or did he know something the rest of have yet to learn? Was the Forbes fight a reflection of the real Hopkins or was it merely an “off night” against a crafty technician capable of making any world-class opponent uncomfortable? Will Holt's overwhelming edge in big fight experience prove insurmountable for the relatively green Hopkins? How will Holt fare against a taller opponent with excellent physical tools?...

Aftermath: With Hatton obviously fixated with a Pacquiao bout sometime in the Spring, Holt and Bradley can look forward to squaring off in fight featuring much better value for the hardcore boxing fan. Neither Bradley nor Holt have reached that “big money” strata in the boxing hierarchy just yet, but those in the “know” know that Bradley has special skills that compare quite favorably with Mayweather's, and Holt is a dedicated warrior willing to take on and capable of defeating the very best fighters at 140 lbs...more...

The New Superstar - Pacquiao Dominates Over De La Hoya

An era ended in boxing history tonight and another began in startling fashion at the MGM Grand as Manny Pacquiao absolutely dominated Oscar De La Hoya from start to finish. De La Hoya failed to answer the bell for the ninth round, marking a TKO victory for Pacquiao. It was only the second time in his long career that De La Hoya has been stopped.


In a fight in which many predicted that Pacquiao, a natural 130-pounder, would be too small for De La Hoya, who has fought as high as 160, the diminutive Filipino staged a virtuoso performance. It was a dazzling display of handspeed, upper body movement, precision timing and an evolved defensive awareness that all combined to make De La Hoya seem positively average in comparison, at times even helpless. Over and over, Pacquiao snapped Oscar's head back with his trademark left hand lead, and then followed it with multi-punch combinations, working the body and the head with equal fury, while De La Hoya retreated, always at least two beats slow in his attempts to counter. By the fourth round, Oscar's left eye was bruised and badly swelling, and by the seventh, he was cowering against the ropes and taking a beating unlike any he has ever received. After taking similar punishment in the eighth, the fight was stopped in between rounds by referee Tony Weeks, seemingly at the behest of Oscar's corner.


As the betting underdog, Pacquiao's victory must be considered a sizable upset, yet what is truly astonishing is not that he won, but the manner in which he won against a much bigger man, the ease with which he disposed of the most decorated fighter of his generation. Pacquiao went into the fight as the consensus pound-for-pound king of boxing and a huge worldwide star. After this massive victory, he comes out of it soaring into the international stratopshere of mega-stardom, poised to take the mantle from Oscar as the sport's next must-see attraction whose every fight is a major and financially lucrative event.


As for De La Hoya, let the questions begin. The biggest pre-fight soundbite emerging from the Pacquiao camp came from Manny's trainer, Freddie Roach, who said that at 35, Oscar was too old and "couldn't pull the trigger." Never has a soundbite seemed so much like a prophecy. Is the era of The Golden Boy over once and for all? Is he simply at an age where he can no longer compete against elite competition? Or did getting down to 147 pounds leave him too drained to keep up with Pacquiao's furious pace? Oscar looked weak and sluggish almost from the opening bell, and though much of that appearance was no doubt due to Pacquaio's frenetic workrate, it was hard not to think of De La Hoya in his prime matching combinations with a speed merchant like Shane Mosley and feel that his best days are long behind him.


De La Hoya didn't make an appearance at the post-fight press conference due to the fact that he was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. But the representatives of Golden Boy who did speak at the presser on his behalf - Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and his surrogate trainer, the legendary Angelo Dundee - seemed to be speaking of his career in the past tense. Whether or not De La Hoya announces his retirement in the next few weeks or not, tonight's fight certainly had the feeling of being in the tradition of the memorable torch-passing events in the sport - Marciano/Louis, Holmes/Ali, De La Hoya/Chavez. After utterly dismantling boxing's biggest and most bankable star, Manny Pacquiao is now not only the pound-for-pound fighting king - he's the uncontested king of the sport.

Source: sportingnews