By Keith Idec
Former junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt (25-4, 13 KOs) will end a seven-month layoff on Oct. 15 against Nicaraguan journeyman Octavio Navarez in Miami, Okla.
The eight-round junior welterweight bout will mark Holt’s first fight since suffering a six-round TKO defeat to 14-1 underdog Kaizer Mabuza (23-6-3, 14 KOs) on Feb. 28 in Atlantic City. That loss cost the former WBO 140-pound champ a guaranteed shot at the IBF’s junior welterweight title.
His non-televised fight against Navarez (7-9-1, 4 KOs) will be part of the Antonio Tarver-Nagy Aguilera undercard at Buffalo Run Casino. It also respresents Holt’s first fight with Al Haymon, one of boxing’s most influential power brokers.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.
