Julio Diaz: This is Do or Die For Me and Kendall Holt
Former IBF Lightweight World Champion Julio "The Kidd" Diaz (38-6, 27 KOs) says he's still got plenty left to give boxing before he retires to run his construction company.
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Kendall Holt: page 9
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Tale of Remember When, Punching for Tomorrow Stories
by Cliff Rold - Three or so years ago, it would still have been a main event. It might even have been at the very Chumash Casino it will be taking place in this Friday night. If not, then maybe the Home Depot Center, Pechanga, or Seminole Hard Rock. For sure, the venue could have been the same. The broadcast outlet? That might have been a little different. In 2007, now 31-year old Julio Diaz was still in the midst of his second run as IBF Lightweight titlist. Still just 29 today, former WBO Jr. Welterweight titlist Kendall Holt (26-4, 14 KO) came up just short that same year in his first crack at that belt, controversially stopped by big punching Ricardo Torres on the road. Holt would seize the belt in a 2008 corker, coming off the floor twice to score a brutal knockout, all in just one minute plus a second. In 2007 or 2008, it’s easy to imagine a Diaz-Holt showdown headlining, or at least chief supporting, on Showtime or HBO. Friday night, Holt and Diaz will lock horns in the main event on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. It’s no knock on ESPN2. They’ve managed a ream of good fights over the last couple years with less budget than HBO or Showtime have. However, those quality matches often signal one of two things: fighters potentially on the rise or fighters resisting the slide. In recent years, fans have seen the progress arc of the sensational Yuriorkis Gamboa on one hand, and a career saving win for former Jr. Middleweight titlist Roman Karmazin, just to cite a couple memorable moments. This Friday, we have a couple Karmazin’s on our hands. It’s a fine matchmaking choice for the premium cable outlet and, better for the fans, an opportunity likely fused with a hint of desperation for both men. Time has moved on since the best of days for Holt and Diaz. Neither ever quite achieved the level of superstardom their talents initially indicated possible. Neither has any reason to hang their head despite it. They have achieved much in their tenures, been honest pros at the elite level of the game, and clearly aren’t yet at the finish line. This is the best kind of veteran non-title match-up, a chance to see two men just enough past it to ensure landing leather, and still good enough to show off the all the tricks, all the savvy, their combined 20-plus years as paid pugilists have imparted.
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Kendall Holt-Julio Diaz Finalized For May 13, ESPN FNF
Two world champions known for never backing down will meet at the crossroads in the main event of promoter Gary Shaw in association with Thompson Boxing's outstanding Friday Night Fights broadcast from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, on Friday May 13.
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Kendall Holt-Julio Diaz Clash on May 13 on ESPN
Former WBO junior welterweight champ Kendall Holt will face an undetermined opponent on the Sergio Martinez-Sergiy Dzinziruk undercard on March 12. Martinez-Dzinziruk takes places at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Conn. If Holt (26-4, 14 KOs), a Paterson native and Woodland Park resident, wins that non-televised bout he is likely to face former lightweight champ Julio Diaz (38-6, 27 KOs) in an ESPN2 main event May 13 at a site to be determined.
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Holt: I'll Fight Amir Khan in England, Snatch His Belt
BoxingScene.com caught up with former 140-pound champion Kendall "Rated R" after his first round destruction of Lenin Arroyo at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The fight took place on the Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley unification undercard.
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Video: Kendall Holt Talks Comeback, Amir Khan, More
Ryan Burton catches up with welterweight contender Kendall Holt to discuss his return to the ring after a long layoff, what he plans to do in the future, and more.
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Kendall Holt Destroys Arroyo, Conyers Upsets De La Rosa
SILVERDOME, PONTIAC, MICHIGAN - Welterweight prospect James De la Rosa's (20-1) near 15 month layoff was evident when he was upset by Allen Conyers (12-4) via unanious decision. The scores were 95-92 on all three judges scorecards.
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