Holt vanquishes Diaz in three

Holt vanquishes Diaz in three!

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

May 13, 2011

In an effort to re-establish legitimacy amongst the top tier in the junior welterweight division, Kendall “Rated R” Holt [27-4, 15 KOs] scored a one shot third round stoppage of former fellow world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz [38-7, 27 KOs] in the ESPN Friday Night Fights headlining bout from the Chumash Casino & Resort in Santa Ynez, California.

Holt, of Patterson, New Jersey, who had fought one round since suffering a shock defeat at the hands of the unheralded Kaizer Mabuza in an IBF eliminator last year, flashed his power early in the fight as he stunned Diaz with a combination in the opening stanza. The former WBO junior welterweight champion has always relied on his power to bail him out of tough fights in the past and last night's crossroads clash was no different. Diaz, himself a former 135-pound world champion, began to outbox Holt in the second and third and even buzzed Holt with a shot late in the third.

That ended up being the worst thing that could happen for Diaz as it forced him to drop his guard just for a second, which was enough for Holt to land a well placed body shot that would drop his gloves. Holt followed with a big right hand that sent Diaz to the canvas, his head nearly bouncing off of it. Diaz gamely made it to his feet but was far from able to continue, prompting referee Marcos Rosales to stop the fight with 23 seconds left in the round.

The win will likely remove Diaz from the relevant landscape at junior welterweight while Holt reclaims some of the glory that once made him a champion. He becomes an attractive opponent for any of the name fighters at 140 pounds, of which there are many. Managed by New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, Holt has found himself back in the mix once again when many had written him off.

In the televised co-feature, Puerto Rican junior middleweight prospect and 2008 Olympian Jonathan Gonzalez [13-0, 13 KOs] scored a seventh round stoppage of the game but outclassed former Contender season two alum Rudy Cisneros [12-3, 11 KOs]. Cisneros fought on even terms with Gonzalez for much of the early portion of the bout but began to tire midway through and lose the snap on his punches. Gonzalez took over from that point on and began finding the mark at a higher clip of accuracy before landing a solid flurry near the ropes late in round seven, earning the stoppage when referee Ray Corona stepped in to stop the bout at 1:50 of the seventh. According to promoter Gary Shaw, Gonzalez will return to the ring June 11^th on a ShoBox card.

Making his first appearance of 2011 was Flint, Michigan super middleweight prospect Anthony Dirrell [21-0, 18 KOs], younger brother of super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell. Anthony carried opponent Alberto Mercedes [14-18-1, 10 KOs] of West Allis, Wisconsin, originally from the Dominican Republic for a few rounds before breaking him down to the body in the third, scoring a third round TKO at 2:48 with Mercedes still on his feet. Anthony may appear in Flint, Michigan on a Dirrell promoted card sometime in the next few months.

In the best matched fight of the night, junior middleweights Francisco Santana [12-2-1, 6 KOs] of nearby Santa Barbara, California and Julian Williams [6-0-1, 4 KOs] of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania battled to a six-round unanimous draw in a fantastic fight. The local product Santana brought a large contingency to the venue with him and they were behind him as he fell behind against his undefeated opponent early, only to help him rally in the final two rounds to earn the draw and nearly a stoppage. When the two fought in the center of the ring it favored Williams, but when the fight went to the trenches near the ropes it was all Santana, who was willing to take two to land four and five in an effort to try and steal the victory. The capacity crowd was clamoring for a rematch as soon as it was over, and hopefully they will get one on the June 10^th ShoBox non-televised portion of the undercard.

In a thrilling four-round televised bantamweight swing bout, Daniel Roman [2-0-1, KO] of Garden Grove, California notched a unanimous decision victory over then unbeaten Alfredo Madrigal [1-1] of Indio, California. The two young prospects looked to make a splash out of their precious television time, engaging in a thrilling back and forth battle that wasn't translated to the scorecards, which read 40-35 unanimously in favor of Roman, who scored a knockdown in a second round he was getting beat up in.

Austin, Texas middleweight Kurtiss Colvin [5-0, 4 KOs] made easier work of Battle Creek, Michigan's Cameron Allen [3-7, KO] than he did previously, stopping his game opponent at 2:52 of the second round in a rematch of a February bout that saw Colvin edge a majority decision. Colvin was hit way too much by a journeyman opponent, which doesn't bode well for his future endeavors. Still, Colvin is an entertaining fighter and will be a fan favorite while he is around.

Junior middleweight Jhon Ortega [5-0, 5 KOs[ of Londonderry, New Hampshire scored a fourth round one punch knockout of Michigan City, Indiana's Marcus Thompkins [5-4-1, 2 KOs]. Ortega was in control the entire way until one right hand sent Thompkins to the canvas hard. Referee Ray Corona waved it off at 27 seconds of the round.

Undefeated Lancaster, California super featherweight Joel Diaz [3-0, 2 KOs] scored a quick stoppage of Fresno, California's Dionicio Alvarez [1-3] in the evening's final fight at 2:08 of the opening round. Diaz was just too much for his overmatched opponent, staggering him multiple times before referee Ray Corona waved it off.

Local favorite Rufino Serrano [9-3] of Santa Maria, California earned a tougher than expected win over Ramon Flores of Wilmington, California [3-12-2, 3 KOs] in a six round featherweight scrap. Flores put up a better effort than his record would have suggested, tagging Serrano as he came in wild with wide shots. Serrano landed the harder punches and earned a close decision win by scores of 58-56, 58-55, and 57-56.

Making her professional debut was highly touted light flyweight Seniesa Estrada [1-0] of Los Angeles, California, who earned an easy unanimous decision over the winless Maria Ruiz [0-3] of Houston, Texas in a four-round bout. Estrada showed great skills as she boxed beautifully but did not press the action enough to try and earn a stoppage.

In attendance for the night's festivities was middleweight champion of the world Sergio Martinez, who impressively makes it to more cards than any active fighter that this writer has seen. Also in attendance was super middleweight Andre Dirrell as well as sports stars Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants and former NBA player Tim Thomas, who are involved with Kendall Holt, the main event winner.

The next card to take place at the Chumash Casino & Resort is slated for June 10^th and will be televised by ShoBox: The New Generation. The card will be headlined by an intriguing cruiserweight bout between undefeated Lateef Kayode and former world title challenger Matt Godfrey. Chris Avalos and Archie Ray Marquez are slated for undercard action. For tickets, call 1-877-CHUMASH.