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On Saturday night, there will be some additional holiday fireworks at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
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Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt will try to pick up where they left off last Sept. 1 when their first fight ended prematurely, which resulted in a tidal wave of controversy.
The card also features a ten-round, junior welterweight bout that showcases the Top Rank debut of highly touted Lamont Peterson, 24-0 (11), who faces Rogelio Castaneda, 24-13-3 (8).
The Showtime broadcast will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) as part of its "ShoBox: The New Generation" series. Tickets are available at a reasonable $50-$150.
Peterson, 24, is the older brother of lightweight Anthony Peterson, 23, who won his Top Rank debut last week by a virtual shutout. He, too, marches toward a title opportunity. It shouldn't come as a surprise that we speak of the Petersons, five years from now, with the same respect as the Marquez brothers today.
Lamont Peterson will want to put on a good performance for his moment in the spotlight as he may soon be in the ring with the winner of the main event. Peterson said after his brother's fight that he was in great shape and was looking forward to putting on a good show. I see him winning easily with a late-round TKO.
"I'm really looking forward to this fight," Lamont said at a Top Rank media brunch last Saturday. "Stars are born in Vegas as far as boxing goes, so I'm looking to grow up a little bit and become a star."
Ricardo Torres, 32-1 (28), will make his third defense of his WBO junior welterweight title in the rematch with No. 1 contender Kendall Holt, 23-2 (12), in what should be a superb main event.
Torres lives in Barranquilla, Columbia, the site of the infamous first fight. He's a strong fighter whose only loss was to Miguel Cotto in 2005. Torres put the great Cotto on the floor before finally getting stopped in seven.
"To my shock and everyone's shock I saw Miguel Cotto flat on his back on the deck and in La-La Land for two rounds," said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, the promoter of the "No Excuses" card on Saturday.
In their first encounter, Holt dropped Torres in round six with a combination and was leading on the scorecards entering that fateful 11th round. Just to give you an idea of which way the wind was heading, Holt led 98-91 and 95-94 on cards from Puerto Rico's Stuart Winston and Miami's Jose Torres, respectively. The judge from Barranquilla, Manuel Rodriguez, saw it 95-94 for Torres.
Unruly fans had compromised the safety of the fighters throughout the fight by tossing full beer cans, bottles of soda and water, ice cubes, and other foreign objects into the ring. Holt said that he was hit by a beer can while standing in a neutral corner after decking Torres in the sixth.
In the 11th round with both fighters slipping on the wet surface, Torres floored Holt with a good right hand. Holt later admitted that it was a good shot.
"I was okay," Holt said. "It was sort of like a flash knockdown."
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| Kendall Holt will face Ricardo Torres in a rematch on Saturday night. (US Presswire) |
Holt also claims that someone in Torres' corner grabbed his right leg as he tried to avoid Torres' bull-like advances.
Moments later, Chicago-based referee Genaro Rodriguez stopped the fight with 26 seconds left in the round just as Holt was throwing a punch.
One might have thought that a veteran referee might have had the presence of mind to call time out and dry the ring surface, but Rodriguez maintained that "the action of the fight was more important at the time."
However, after the sixth round knockdown of Torres, Rodriguez delayed the start of the seventh because there was water in one of the corners. Further, when Torres lost his footing in the 11th, the ref helped him to his feet!
The Holt camp also complained of being deprived of two knockdowns. Twenty-four seconds into the fight, Holt landed a right and Torres' right glove touched the canvas. In that ugly 11th round, Holt's short right forced Torres through the ropes, which the Holt people maintain he used to hold himself upright.
And if all of this is not bad enough, a replay of the fight shows Torres' handlers on the ring apron prior to the stoppage, by rule grounds for disqualification.
There were four uniformed officers in place to control the estimated 1,600 in attendance at the Jumbo Saloon Country Club, and after the fight, crazed fans rushed mob-like into the ring, turning over the tables in the VIP section.
In an interview the following day, Holt said, "And they won! Can you imagine what would have happened if they lost?"
Keith Idec, the only American journalist at the fight, reported that back at the hotel following the fight, Holt and Rodriguez engaged in an "expletive laced verbal confrontation," and a referee actually advanced toward Holt before peacemakers prevented the sorry affair from escalating any further.
"I think it was a great fight the first time, and it will be better this time," Torres said through an interpreter at the Planet Hollywood last Saturday.
In his remarks, Holt said the following: "Last time I was in good shape; this time I'm in better shape. I have no animosity toward him (Torres) but this is how I feed my kids and I want that belt."
I believe that with the home-court advantage reversed, Holt will get that belt. Holt wants to put Barranquilla far in his rear view mirror and a victory will accomplish that. He's a 3-to-1 favorite.
I'm picking Holt to win by an eleventh-round TKO. How fitting is that?
Notes
• HBO will be showing the replay of the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight on Thu., July 3 (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) and Sat., July 5, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
• The WBC apparently doesn't want actors, particularly bad ones, to hold their super featherweight belt. The WBC ruled that their 130-pound interim title will not go to Francisco Lorenzo after his controversial DQ win over Humberto Soto. The sanctioning body's Board of Governors are expected to render a decision in 7-to-10 days on whether the Soto-Lorenzo fight will be declared a no contest or a TKO for Soto.
It's unlikely that the NSAC is going to change their minds at this point and the fight is in the record books as a DQ win for Lorenzo. So all of this would seem to be an exercise in futility for a crummy interim title. If Manny Pacquiao relinquishes his belt as expected, Lorenzo would become the WBC super featherweight champ, and I would hate to see a guy who was taking a beating get a title on a bad call. The Lorenzo camp is talking litigation if they don't get the belt, or at least a Golden Globe Award.
I wonder if William Shatner will plead their case.
