By Jake Donovan

It's become painfully obvious that the term "win today, look good the next time" is no longer in Kendall Holt's repertoire, simply because he's not capable of doing both in the same fight.

Such was painfully evident in Thursday's VERSUS-televised main event in Las Vegas, as a spirited undercard loaded with knockouts was dampened by Holt's methodical 10-round decision win over Ben Tackie.

The bout was Holt's first since his controversial loss against Ricardo Torres last summer in Barranquilla, Colombia. In that fight, he effectively mixed boxing and brawling through ten rounds, including a hard knockdown midway through, but ran into trouble late in the fight before serving as the victim of a highly questionable stoppage.

Against Tackie, Holt made certain to not allow history to repeat itself. The Patterson, NJ product came into the ring sporting a replica jersey of close friend and New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who is known for his explosive power and ability to move a pile the moment he lowers his head and takes a handoff. However, Holt's homage to his Super Bowl winning friend did not spill over into the ring.

It was the same pattern throughout the fight. Holt was effective his jab and mixed in an occasional power shot, but for the most part played keep away against a plodding and badly faded version of Tackie. Holt was never in danger of getting chin-checked, but refused to deviate from the script, settling for a steady, if excessively monotonous pace.

Tackie tried his damnest to make a fight out of it in the fifth round, charging forward and letting his hands go (by his standards, anyway) after offering very little through the first four rounds. Holt responded by spending the entire round circling the ring, a tactic which drew excessive boos from the ballroom crowd.

The jeering must've struck a chord with Holt, who came out purposeful in the sixth. With his own corner pleading to pick up the pace, Holt landed his first combination of the fight, a 1-2 that momentarily rocked the iron-chinned Tackie. Holt remained on the offensive but lost his own mouthpiece somewhere along the way, leading to a brief timeout after a lull in the action.

That would be the end of Kendall the entertainer, as the junior welterweight contender reverted to fighting in reverse for the remainder of the fight. Tackie followed him around the ring, looking for openings that never presented itself. The closest to any drama occurring came in the ninth round, when Tackie flopped to the floor following a brief clinch. Tackie sold referee Robert Byrd on the idea that he was hit with a low blow, causing Byrd to call time-out and issue a warning to Holt.

No problem, said Holt, who spent the rest of the fight playing keep away on the outside, and clinching anytime Tackie came within punching range.

One of the four points of scoring criteria is defense, of which Holt did a sensational job. Tackie landed a mere 58 punches throughout the fight, very few of them doing any damage. But this being Vegas, the fact that the Ghana native kept coming forward throughout was enough to sell judge CJ Ross on the idea of an even fight, with his inept scorecard reading 95-95 by night's end. Dick Houck and Paul Smith saved a boring fight from also becoming a controversial one, with their identical cards of 98-92 for Holt a lot closer to reality.

With the win, Holt advances to 23-2 (12KO) but does little to rally the troops behind his cause for a rematch with Torres or a shot at any other alphabet titlist. The talented junior welterweight should manage to stay busy after recently signing a promotional deal with Top Rank, but is at a point where he'll have to find a way to simultaneously win and look good.

Tackie falls to 29-9-1 (17KO) with the loss, his third straight. Now 5-6-1 in his last 12 bouts and no longer able to let his hands go, the 34-year old is clearly at the end of his career.

No such problems in the career of 21-year old Vanes "Nightmare" Martirosyan, as things are just getting started for the undefeated junior middleweight prospect and 2004 US Olympian. While the main event left the crowd booing throughout, Martirosyan gave 'em plenty of reason to cheer with a three-round beatdown of Michi Munoz in the televised co-feature.

The brash Armenian, now residing in Glendale, California, was on the attack early and often throughout, scoring three knockdowns in the brief yet punishing affair. A counter left hand put Munoz on the deck early in the opening round, drawing chants of "Va-Nes" from the crowd, which came alive anytime Martirosyan had his Mexican foe in any trouble.

Martirosyan remained on the attack in round two, landing several 1-2's upstairs while keeping Munoz within punching range throughout. Munoz managed to stay on his feet throughout the round, but was forced to take a knee midway through the third after taking one right hand too many. He beat referee Kenny Bayliss' mandatory eight count, but would've been better served to remain on the canvas. Martirosyan teed off on the Mexican before forcing him to a knee for the round's second knockdown, this time with Bayliss immediately waving off the bout.

The official time was 2:20 of round three.

Martirosyan improves to 19-0 (13KO), already registering his second win of 2008 and scheduled to return in late March. Munoz won't fight for a while, suffering a broken nose in addition to the first stoppage loss of his career, both of which earns him a trip to the medical suspension list. He falls to 20-2 (13KO) with the loss, snapping a three-fight win streak.

A pair of Vegas-based prospects looked impressive in separate knockout wins.

Alex Mercado made it 4 KO's in as many fights, systematically breaking down Jose Manuel Garcia (3-3, 1KO) in the third round of their bantamweight swing bout. Mercardo scored knockdowns in each of the first two rounds before referee Robert Byrd mercifully halted the bout early in the third round.

The walkout bout barely provided enough time for the crowd to get up from their chairs, never mind file out of the arena. Angel Flores (9-2, 3KO) took out Walberto Gaxiola (4-5, 3KO) a mere 35 seconds into their scheduled four round junior welterweight bout. A single left hook to the liver caused Gaxiola to collapse to the canvas, rolling around in agony as the bout was waved off without a count.

The show was presented by Top Rank, Inc.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com.

Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com