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Showtime Championship Boxing Recap

April 4, 2009

Bell Centre-Montreal, Quebec

WBC Super Lightweight/WBO Junior Welterweight (140 pounds) 12-Round Championship Unification Match:

Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 KO's, 138.5 pounds) (WBC) vs. Kendall Holt (25-2, 13 KO's, 139.75 pounds) (WBO)

Bradley won his title in a huge upset of Junior Witter via 12-round split decision on May 10, 2008 at what was the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England. In round 6, Bradley used a Chuck Liddell style overhand right to knock down Witter for the first time in the Englishman's professional boxing career. At the end of the match, the only controversy was how one judge had managed to score the match for Witter. Even some of the English fans booed that ridiculous scorecard. The win made Bradley only the fifth boxer born in history born in the United States to win a world title in England. A full recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/12/23/recap-of-timothy-bradley-jr-vs-junior-witter.html Bradley is making his second defense of this title.

Holt won his title with The Ring's 2008 Knockout of the Year of Ricardo Torres at 1:01 of round 1 on July 5, 2008 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the exciting rematch, Holt was dropped twice in the first 32 seconds of the match. Holt then got off the canvas to knock Torres completely unconscious with a headbutt followed by a right hand. In a memorable scene, Torres landed in the position similar to the pose of French sculptor Auguste Rodin's famous statue "The Thinker". A full recap of that match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2008/12/19/recap-of-kendall-holt-vs-ricardo-torres-ii.html Holt is making his second defense of this title.

Bradley had an extensive amateur boxing career of over 145 amateur matches.

The Californian is one of the top young boxers in the sport. However, as tonight's ring announcer Lennon got caught saying in a video that ended up on the internet, Bradley has one great weakness, "he's a terrible trash-talker." Therefore, Bradley has taken the unusual step for a boxer of getting promo coaches. Bradley has enlisted the services of a promo coach that has drawn a lot of money in former WCW and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg. (However in keeping with kayfabe, ESPN.com identified Goldberg as an MMA analyst.) This promo training has served Bradley well. After cutting a terrible promo on Holt in December, Bradley came back with a great performance at the press conference hyping this event a few months later. Instead of the usual boxing press conference that ends in a pull-apart, Bradley cut a promo and participated in several verbal exchanges that convinced viewers he was going to have an entertaining match. It was refreshing and did not seem scripted, like most boxing press conferences.

Bradley's last match was a 12-round blowout unanimous decision over Edner Cherry on September 13, 2008 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Bradley out-worked Cherry throughout the match and landed a huge right hand to score a 1-punch knockdown in round 7. That was only the fourth time Cherry had been knocked down in his 32 match pro career, continuing to show Bradley's growing 1-punch power. (Oddly, in the Showtime text message poll for the event one of the options for the key factor in this match is that Bradley lacks 1-punch power. To show how valid viewers thought that option was, it finished last in the text message poll by a wide margin.) A full recap of the Bradley vs. Cherry match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/4/4/recap-of-timothy-bradley-vs-edner-cherry.html

Bradley is The Ring's number 1 contender at 140 pounds to their champion in the weight class, Ricky Hatton.

Holt had a modest amateur boxing career where he won 3 New Jersey Golden Gloves Championships.

The Paterson, New Jersey resident is undefeated in matches that have gone to he scorecards. Holt's 2 losses have both come via controversial technical knockout. On June 18, 2004, Holt lost to Thomas Davis via stoppage at 2:59 of round 1 at the DePaul Athletic Center in Chicago, Illinois. Many observers believe the referee stepped in prematurely in that match. The other knockout loss was a dubious stoppage in round 11 to Torres on September 1, 2007 at Salon Jumbo del Country Club in Barranquilla, Colombia. Holt was knocked down earlier in the round 11 and successfully answered the referee's 8-count. Then, the fans began to pelt the ring with debris. Holt was hurt, but did not appear out of it. However, the people in the ring and at ringside were in serious peril as debris continued to rain down and the crowd became riotous. Therefore, the referee deciding it was best to leave the ring alive called a questionable halt to the contest.

Holt's last match was a 12-round split decision victory over Demetrius Hopkins on December 13, 2008 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Holt was scheduled to face Torres for a third time that night in an event titled "No Excuses", but the Colombian pulled out less then a week before the match saying he had been sick and could not make weight. Coming off over a year long layoff, Hopkins who had been training for a match at 145 pounds on the undercard then stepped in to take the title shot. The result was a horrifically bad match. The boxers matched up poorly. Holt had been training for a pressure boxer in Torres and ended up with a counter-puncher. This lead to a boring match where Holt did little offensively. A full recap of the match can be found here: http://www.number1contender.net/the-latest/2009/4/1/recap-of-kendall-holt-vs-demetrius-hopkins.html

Holt is The Ring's number 6 contender at 140 pounds.

At 25-years-old, Bradley is 2 years younger then the 27-year-old Holt. Holt has the height advantage standing 5' 8" tall, while Bradley stands 5' 6" tall. The New Jersey resident has the reach advantage with a 70.5" wingspan, compared to the 69" wingspan of Bradley. Neither boxers' unofficial weight approaching match time is available, but the numbers suggest that Holt will be the heavier boxer in the ring. Both boxers will employ the orthodox stance.

Two of the official judges keeping score of this match from ringside are from Canada, and the other judge is from Puerto Rico. The referee is Michael Griffin.

With 1:01 to go in round 1, Holt lands a gigantic counter-left hook that literally lifts Bradley off his feet. The punch had Bradley briefly soaring in the air, before the boxer crashed down hard on the canvas. That is one of the most spectacular knockdowns of the last few years and should end up on highlight reels for years. Holt knocking Bradley skyward is far more impressive then what he did to Torres to earn knockout of the year. Everyone reading this needs to seek out this replay to see this knockdown. Gus Johnson, who is doing play-by-play of this event for Showtime, is usually over enthusiastic. However, here his screaming to call this knockdown matched the moment and was great. That is the first time Bradley has ever been knocked down in either his amateur or professional boxing career. Astoundingly, Bradley was up quickly after hitting the mat. Bradley easily answers the referee's count and is allowed to continue with 46 seconds to go in the round as Johnson continues to lose his mind screaming with excitement on commentary. The Californian boxed the rest of round 1 tentatively, but made it back to his corner without needing to clinch. Holt's awe inspiring knockdown earns him round 1, 10-8. Holt wins round 2 by landing several good power punches, highlighted by 2 big left hooks in the opening minute of the round, 10-9. Bradley is busier in round 3, but Holt appeared to land the more effective punches in the round. Therefore, Holt wins round 3, 10-9, and is ahead on my scorecard after 3 rounds, 30-26. After round 3, Nate Campbell is shown watching in the crowd. Campbell lost his titles at 135 pounds when he failed to make weight for his last match. He is moving up to 140 pounds and looking to face the winner of this match. (The other notable celebrity that has been shown in the crowd is the starting halfback for the NFL's New York Giants, Brandon Jacobs, who accompanied Holt to the ring.) After 3 rounds, Bernstein has the match even, 28-28. The Showtime commentator scored rounds 2 and 3 for Bradley based on his superior work rate.

With over 30 seconds to go in round 4, Holt has been cut over his right eye. Holt is acting like the cut is bleeding into his eye and effecting his vision. The cut appears to have been caused by an unintentional clash of heads. Both boxers had been warned about headbutting earlier in the round. Round 4 is Bradley's best round of the match and he wins it easily, 10-9. The cut above Holt's eye does not appear to be very serious. It is very small and barely bleeding. However, Holt appears to be badly effected by the cut. The referee never signaled that the cut was caused by a clash of heads. The rule is that whenever a referee is unsure about the cause of a cut, they are to rule it is caused by a punch. That means if this cut were to cause a premature stoppage, Holt would lose via technical knockout. However, Holt is not bleeding when he comes out to start round 5. In the opening 20 seconds of round 5, Holt has already complained twice to the referee about Bradley headbutting him. Holt began to vociferously complain to the referee about Bradley's roughhouse tactics at the end of round 4 to the point he turned away from his opponent. The New Jersey native appears to be losing focus from defeating Bradley and instead focusing on complaining to the referee to get Bradley deducted a point. If Holt does not regain his composure quickly, he could give away several rounds. The busier Bradley wins round 5, 10-9. To start round 6, Holt is bleeding slightly out of his right nostril. That and the continued body punching from Bradley may explain the diminishing punch output from Holt. Holt was relatively active for the first 2 minutes of round 6, then barely punched in the last minute. Therefore, Bradley wins round 6 easily, 10-9. Round 7 features numerous largely intentional fouls from both boxers and some great body punching from Bradley to win the round, 10-9. After 7 rounds, the match is even on my scorecard, 66-66. Bernstein has Bradley with a big lead after 7 rounds, 68-64.

With 1:00 to go in round 8, Bradley hits Holt low with a left hand and the referee gives serious consideration to deducting a point from the Californian. Instead, the referee opts to issue Bradley a stern warning for hitting low. The next flagrant low blow may cost Bradley a point, but the referee clearly does not want to be the deciding factor in the match by deducting potential crucial points. Therefore despite the referee's stern warning, Bradley will probably not be deducted a point even if he hits low a few more times in this match. With 30 seconds to go still in round 8, Holt is pushed to a knee on the mat. The referee correctly rules it a slip. The action is quickly restarted with 25 seconds to go in the round. Bradley out-works Holt to win round 8, 10-9. Holt landed several good power punches to win a close round 9, 10-9. After 9 rounds, the match is still even on my scorecard, 85-85. Bernstein still has Bradley ahead by 4 points after 9 rounds, 87-83.

Bradley wins round 10 by doing the more consistent work throughout the round, 10-9. Bradley spends much of round 11 chasing the retreating Holt around the ring, and wins round 11 easily, 10-9. With 29 seconds to go in the final round, a combination from Holt causes Bradley to slip and the Californian's right glove touched the canvas for a moment. The referee is correctly ruling that, because the combination contributed to the slip that is a knockdown. Bradley has now been knocked down for both the second time in this match and in his competitive boxing career. The crowd is booing the referee's knockdown call, because they could not see the glove touch. After failing to convince the referee it was a slip, Bradley is smiling in disbelief as the referee applies the mandatory 8-count. Bradley is allowed to continue and appears fine to finish the match when the action is resumed with 15 seconds to go in the round. Holt did not work to finish Bradley in the remaining time, but did win round 12, 10-8. The 2 knockdowns have the match ending in a draw on my scorecard, 113-113. After a match that had a plethora of fouls from both boxers, when the final bell sounds the boxers embraced in the center of the ring. They then chatted like good friends as they anxiously awaited the official decision. Bernstein has Bradley winning the match by the final score of 115-111. The members of the press keeping unofficial score of the match from ringside for Showtime had the match a majority draw: 113-113, 113-113, 114-112 (Holt). It should be noted that the member of the press who had Holt winning is a writer for the newspaper in Holt's hometown.

The official outcome courtesy of the "Classy" Jimmy Lennon, Jr. is that the judges have scored the match: 114-112, 115-111, 115-111, all for the winner by unanimous decision, still undefeated and now the Unified WBC/WBO 140-Pound Champion of the World, Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley. Upon hearing the decision, Bradley dropped to the canvas in tears of joy. The win moves Bradley to 24-0 with 11 wins coming by way of knockout.

Bradley, still crying, was unable to say anything of note in his post match interview.

A disappointed Holt in his post match interview, admitted he gave away some of the rounds by being relatively inactive. Of course, Holt wants a rematch.

Bradley was very good in this match. He showed poor defense on occasion. However, Bradley still showed that he is the best 140-pound boxer in the world not named Hatton. Bradley has several options of where to go after this match. The Showtime broadcasters kept mentioning a potential match up between the winner of this match and Hatton, Manny Pacquiao, and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. However, none of those boxers are looking to face Bradley in 2009, nor should they. A rematch with Holt is dangerous, and Bradley would not have little to gain in another victory. That makes it very unlikely to happen, even though it would be entertaining for boxing fans. The WBC mandated before this match that the winner make a mandatory title defense against Devon Alexander in their next match or be stripped of the title. Bradley has 15 days to decide if he wants to take the mandatory defensive or vacate the belt. The Californian will most likely take the title defense. The added draw of having 2 belts could help Bradley get bigger money matches at 140 pounds in the future. That would probably be an undercard match on another Showtime Championship Boxing event.

Holt was good in this match. He would have won if he were more active. Holt was very effective with his jab, but rarely threw it and that could have been the difference in the match. The tape of this match will provide ample things for Holt to work on and improve in training. Holt also has numerous good match ups available to him coming out of this match. The best match for Holt is an immediate rematch with Bradley, but that is unlikely to happen. The next best option for Holt is to main event a ShoBox event in a rubber match with Torres. The winner of that match should be in line for an immediate title shot. If that falls through, Holt could probably face a few lower profile boxers at 140 pounds and have himself back in title contention within 12 months.

This match was very good throughout the contest.This wasan excellent show that is worth seeking out a replay of in the future. There are no immediate replays scheduled, but Showtime will replay this numerous times over the next several years.