ATLANTIC CITY, NJ.– Kendall Holt successfully retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Jr. Welterweight world title against previously undefeated Demetrius Hopkins Saturday night by split decision on a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation. Scores were 116-112, 117-111 for Holt and 115-113 for Hopkins.
In the jr. middleweight co-feature, Yuri Foreman’s speed and footwork proved too much for his opponent. Foreman nearly shut out James Moore in the 10-round bout. Scores were 100-90, 99-90, 99-91.
Saturday’s fight card was presented by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Holt of Paterson, N.J. improved his record to 25-2 (13 KOs) while Hopkins of Philadelphia, Pa. falls to 28-1-1 (11 KOs).
Hopkins, who was initially scheduled to fight on the undercard against Germaine Sanders, stepped into the main event after Holt’s original opponent, Ricardo Torres, withdrew from the fight due to illness.
“Champions aren't born. They're made by overcoming adversity," said Holt after the fight. "And I've faced adversity since I was a child. This past week wasn't anything new for me."
World Boxing Council (WBC) 140-pound champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley sat ringside Saturday and got an up close and personal look at his next opponent. Bradley and Holt will meet in a world title unification fight early next year on SHOWTIME.
"Kendall Holt was aggressive tonight,” said Bradley. “That was something to see. He looked very impressive. We are two young, great champions and this will be good for boxing."
Bradley, of Palm Springs, Calif., is enjoying a meteoric rise to the top of the 140-pound division. Bradley defeated Junior Witter in England on May 10, 2008 to capture the title. He went on to successfully defend it just four months later against Edner Cherry on Sept. 13 on SHOWTIME.
"Timothy Bradley is a good fighter,” said Holt on Saturday night. “He throws a lot of punches and a lot of combinations. He's going to make me be very aware in there.”
Foreman of Brooklyn, NY by way of Gomel, Belarus remained undefeated Saturday night and improved his record to 27-0 while Moore of Queens via Arklow, County Wickow, Ireland faced the second loss of his career with a record now of 16-2.
SHOWTIME will replay Saturday’s telecast on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHO 2.
Nick Charles called the action from ringside with boxing historian Farhood serving as expert analyst and Al Bernstein serving as ringside reporter. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
“ShoBox: The New Generation” will kick-off a new year of programming on Jan. 16, 2009.
For more information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go to the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://sports.sho.com.
In your face: Holt, at left, faces Hopkins Saturday on ShoBox: The New Generation live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. (SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). In their only previous meeting, current WBO 140-pound champion Kendall Holt, at left, lost to Saturday night’s challenger Demetrius Hopkins in the 1999 Golden Gloves quarterfinal
The co-feature pits undefeated Yuri Foreman (26-0, 8 KOs) of Brooklyn, at left, against James Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) of Queens.
Kendall Holt and challenger Demetrius Hopkins tipped the scales at 140 pounds even on Friday during the official fight weigh-in. Co-feature: Yuri Foreman weighed in at 154 pounds while junior middleweight opponent James Moore came in at 153.4.
Photos: Tom Casino
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