Boxing News Boxing News
Kendall Holt nearly pulled off an upset last night at Salon Jumbo Del Country Club in Barranquilla, Colombia but the power of reigning WBO Light Welter Champion Ricardo Torres bailed out the hometown man, stopping the American challenger in the eleventh round.
Things started off slow as both men probed the defenses of the other with jabs and Holt kept his distance until Torres found range with a hard right hand in the third that hurt Holt but the fleet footed New Jersey man kept his distance to avoid more damage.
The champion continued his control of the bout into the fourth but by the fifth Holt had regained his bearings and good, two-way action broke out.
Near the end of the sixth, Holt caught Torres with a picture perfect counter right and Torres fell heavily to the canvas and was saved by the bell.
The eighth round saw Torres struggle to survive and shake off the effects but Holt was unable to finish off the tough Colombian. In the ninth, Torres’ head cleared but he was getting beaten by the punch by a very confident challenger.
The tenth was more of the same and things looked grim for Torres until the champion landed a huge hail mary to put Holt down in the eleventh and the brave challenger was able to beat the count.
But Torres wasn’t about to let Holt off the hook and hammered the New Jersey man until the referee stopped the bout, much to the dismay of Team Holt.
Torres retains his WBO title for the second time and climbs to 32-1 (28), while Holt loses his first world title bout and drops to 22-2 (12).
