By Mark Vester

The WBO has denied Kendall Holt's protest of his 11th round TKO loss to WBO junior welterweight champion Ricardo Torres in Colombia. Holt wanted the decision to be changed to a no-contest and for an immediate rematch to be issued.

The WBO denied Holt's request for an immediate rematch, but also ruled that Holt will be kept high in the rankings in order to land another shot in the near future. Holt has ten days to file a complaint to WBO president Paco Valcarcel. The WBO denied the request for a reversal of the loss, citing that only the Colombian Boxing Commission can make such a ruling.

Holt based the protest on a very wild Colombian crowd that pelted the ring with drinks, bottles and various other objects during the fight, creating a unsafe condition for the fighters, especially in the 11th round. Holt was actually hit in the face with a can in the sixth round after knocking Torres down. The referee Geno Rodriguez never called a timeout to clean up the ring.  Holt also claimed that a fan grabbed his leg during the 11th round, but WBO said there was no video evidence to support the claim. The sanctioning body also ruled that Hernandez's stoppage of the fight was not premature, as Holt and his team had claimed.

Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com