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On December 13, there will be no one watching the Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres bout more eagerly then Star Boxing’s light welterweight “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis, 21-2-2 (10).
Holt will be defending his WBO light welterweight championship belt that he won by beating Torres in July of this year. Holt KO’d Torres in a wild first round that saw Holt dropped twice before knocking out Torres shortly after.
While Holt and Torres will be battling it out in the ring, Arnaoutis will be sitting ringside impatiently waiting, as he has been for the past two years at his chance of revenge. Torres and Holt are the only two fighters to beat Arnaoutis as a professional and “Mighty” Mike still has the bad taste of those defeats left in his mouth.
“Almost every single day for the last two years, Mike has called me and asked me when he can get another shot at these guys,” said Arnaoutis’ promoter Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “I told Mike for him to get another shot he would have to win each and every fight we put him in, and to look sensational in the process, and he has delivered.”
On November 18, 2006 at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Arnaoutis and Torres fought for the vacant WBO light welterweight title. Arnaoutis took the fight to Torres, landing crisp combinations and boxing beautiful throughout the contest.
In the seventh round, Arnaoutis dropped Torres hard, but the Colombian was able to get up and survive the round. Unfortunately for Arnaoutis, the judges scoring the bout did not seem to agree with those in attendance or those watching on T.V., and gave the fight to Torres via a close twelve round split decision.
The WBO, recognizing Arnaoutis performance, chose to leave his ranking the same and gave him the opportunity to get a rematch with Torres. To get to Torres, Arnaoutis first had to face off against Holt in an official WBO Light Welterweight Title Eliminator.
The Arnaoutis vs. Holt fight took place April 20, 2007 at the Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. From the start of the fight it was clear that something was just not right with “Mighty” Mike on this night. Arnaoutis looked sluggish, a far cry from his usual high-punch output, electrifying, come forward style. Arnaoutis lost a twelve round decision, his second loss in a row, and second of his professional career.
While some fighters might have become discouraged by the events that took place and turned their back to the boxing game, Arnaoutis became more determined then ever to show everyone he was not finished. Using the motivation from the loses, Arnaoutis went on a tear in 2008, winning all four of his bouts in impressive fashion and repositioning himself as one of the top light welterweights in the world.
Arnaoutis is ranked in all of the major sanctioning bodies (IBF #6, WBO #7, WBA #11, WBC #11) and while he would prefer to face either Holt or Torres, he also would love a shot at WBC champ Timothy Bradley, WBA champ Andreas Kotelnik, or IBO and Ring Magazine champion Ricky Hatton.
Jimmy Hartofilis, CEO of Zeek Boy Entertainment, and “Mighty” Mike’s manager, since his first fight after losing to Holt, will be with Arnaoutis on December 13 at the Holt vs. Torres rematch.
“Mike wants this fight more then anything in the world. Mike and I teamed up after he lost to Holt and things have been pretty much smooth sailing since then. We knew if Mike wanted to get a shot at another world championship he was going to have to go out and earn it, no one was just going to give it to him. Mike has worked harder in this past year then ever before.
“He is determined, motivated, and ready to take on any of these champions out there. He has positioned himself now where one of these champions will either step up to fight him, or they will be forced into it. Either way Mike will be ready, and I promise, 2009 is going to the year of ‘Mighty” Mike’.”
