Kendall Holt escapes Demetrius Hopkins with a split decision win

photo courtesy of www.fightnews.com

With only 5 days to prepare, Demetrius Hopkins came within a whisker of winning his first world title when he filled in for an ill Ricardo Torres to challenge Kendall Holt for his WBO portion of the Jr. Welterweight title.

The fight which was held at Bally’s in Atlantic City, NJ and televised on Showtime had a steady theme, Holt was the aggressor and Hopkins looked to counter and capitalize on mistakes.

Though the TV announcer made you think that Holt was the second coming, truth is was this fight lacked in entertainment as both men wanted to fight smart as they had little time to prepare for their foe. It ended up going the 12 round distance and Jude Julie Lederman had it 115 – 113 for Hopkins but was overruled by Judges Luis Rivera and Judge Allan Rubenstein with scores of 117 – 111 & 116 – 112 respectively in favor of Kendall Holt.

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Demetrius Hopkins steps in to fight Kendall Holt for the WBO title

photo by Jay McGuigan

On Saturday December 13th, 2008 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Demetrius Hopkins (28-0, 11ko’s) will get his shot at the title when he faces off against WBO junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt (24-2, 13ko’s) in the main event of this months edition of ShoBox: The Next Generation. The fight comes on less than a week notice as original challenger Ricardo Torres was unable to complete the Holt – Torres trilogy because of an unspecified illness. Hopkins, who is ranked #10 by the WBO, was a man in the right place at the right time as he was already scheduled for action on the untelevised under card against the unheralded Germaine Sanders.

This will be a significant step up for Hopkins who hasn’t fought in over a year due to promotional issues. Now, a full fledged member of Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotional outfit, he is looking to make up for lost time. After Ricky Hatton, the 140 lb division is pretty murky and Hopkins now finds himself in prime position to do some house cleaning in an unsettled area. In his first title shot with a 6 figure payday, look for D-Hop to carry on the championship tradition of the family name. Holt on the other hand, is already saying the 0 is gonna go!

The TV co-feature will pit Jr. middleweights Yuri Foreman (26-0, 8ko’) against James Moore (16-1, 10 ko’s) , both of New York, in a 10 rounder. Fighting off camera will be local Flyweight Qu’ad Muhammed (3-0, 3ko’s) will face Joseph Rios (5-3, 3ko’s) of Texas in a 4 rounder.

Tickets are still available, call (609) 343-2738 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (609) 343-2738      end_of_the_skype_highlighting for pricing.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

Go to www.phillykeith.com for up to the minute info on the Philly boxing scene