By Nick Bellafatto
Just as minute amounts of poison have been known to cure certain ailments, the savage art, and or “Sweet Science” that is boxing has similarly proven beneficial for Patterson, New Jersey’s Kendall “Rated R” Holt (28-5, 16 KO’s).
In a less than ideal upbringing where abuse amongst other things would prompt that Kendall be taken into foster care, boxing has allowed this young man to find solace, a place where he has been able to thrive to at one time reach the pinnacle of his chosen profession.
However, as a result of relinquishing his hard earned WBO 140 pound title to Timothy Bradley in April 2008, Holt’s visit to the top of the food chain would be short lived. No matter though, as this skilled and versatile fighter who’s stumbled on occasion both in and out of the ring has yet another opportunity to lay claim to major hardware in this week’s main event on Friday Night Fights.
By way of mandatory challenger Zab Judah failing to sign on to face IBF champion Lamont “Havoc” Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s), in steps Holt, next in line as concerns the IBF rankings who will go into Peterson’s backyard of Washington, D.C. in an attempt to repeat history.
And in this fight not only will Lamont Peterson have his hands full contesting Holt in what should prove to be a highly competitive match up, but the defending champion is on a bit of a mission to clear the air.
Still somewhat mired in controversy surrounding the ingestion of testosterone both before and after his 2011 win over IBF/WBA champion Amir Khan, something Lamont would initially deny, this turn of events would have consequences.
For not only would Khan be reinstated as WBA champion after a controversial fight I had Amir winning 7-5 in rounds, but Peterson would be deprived of a huge payday upon cancellation of a scheduled rematch.
And while the WBA did what it did as a result of a positive urine sample detected by Dr. Margaret Goodman of VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency), the IBF in contrast would allow Peterson to retain that particular version of the title. Apparently Lamont’s testosterone ingestion according to a separate physician was deemed for therapeutic use rather than for performance enhancement purposes, enough to satisfy the IBF.
Suffice it to say, the defending champion from our nation’s capital has been relegated to ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, considered the precursor to performing on HBO or Showtime where Lamont has appeared before and would once again prefer to be.
With that out of the way, aside from Holts rather disturbing childhood, Lamont Peterson as well as brother and fellow pugilist Anthony have a story of their own. Once homeless and wandering the streets of Washington, D.C., the sport of boxing along with coach Barry Hunter would likewise intervene to provide these young men a pathway to betterment. All told, Lamont Peterson and Kendall Holt are two deserving and upright individuals, only one of whom will emerge victorious come Friday night.
In looking at the principals and what they bring to the table, there exists a common thread here in that both men have lost to Timothy Bradley. Holt overall would give a better account of himself to put Bradley down in a close decision, whereas vice versa Peterson would taste the canvass against Bradley in a bout where Tim would quite measurably separate himself as the better man.
This last observation you would perhaps be able to throw out the window except for the fact that even though Peterson has just one loss on his resume, to his own detriment and against trainer Barry Hunter’s better judgment, Lamont has underutilized in the past and continues to underutilize the consistent use a jab upon approach.
The come forward Peterson simply has a tendency to wade into opponents, preferring to work the body which has been effective in many a bout thus far. However, this proclivity will not serve him well against Holt, who although possessing a similar knockout percentage, in my estimation appears to have a little more pop on his punches and is therefore more of a threat.
With that said, if able to withstand what Holt has to offer, a solid body attack from the likes of a “Havoc” Peterson would pay dividends and make this encounter a two-way spectacle to behold. And as much as I see this scenario playing out in the short run, I don’t believe it will last.
The prospect of Lamont coming forward without blows will simply lend itself to “Rated R” picking and choosing his spots, a circumstance which will favor Kendall to once again strap on a world title belt.
And despite comparable inactivity on the part of both fighters, Holt out for 11 months coming off shoulder surgery and Peterson inactive due to his rematch with Khan cancelled amongst other things, each man feels this will not factor in. Stated Holt, “my shoulder is 100% healthy. The explosiveness is there and I’m punching harder than ever. I feel like a whole new man.”
On the other side of the coin Lamont Peterson would chime in by commenting, “the layoff didn’t hurt me because I’ve been in the gym training. I’ve been able to rest my body and work on fine tuning my skills. I’m ready to fight now and defend my IBF title.”
In this contest I give Holt slight advantages in both the power and versatility department so that in my opinion he’ll either stop or decision Peterson to emerge triumphant. But make no mistake, this will be a give and take affair with Lamont in it to win it so that a Holt victory is pure speculation on my part.
I just hope the sake of boxing that the fighters will determine the outcome as opposed to inept judging or controversial refereeing playing a part. That is not to say I had a problem with referee Joe Cooper taking points from Amir Khan for pushing, holding, etc. in his bout with Peterson. I didn’t.
Kendall “Rated R” Holt versus Lamont “Havoc” Peterson for the IBF junior welterweight title. May the better man win.
