Holt retains title against Hopkins in split decision
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Kendall Holt retained his WBO junior welterweight title with a split decision over Demetrius Hopkins on Saturday night.
Judges Luis Rivera (117-111) and Alan Rubenstein (116-112) both favored Holt, who appeared to dominate the 12-round fight at Boardwalk Hall's Adrian Phillips Ballroom. However, Julie Lederman - much to the surprise of most ringside observers - scored it for Hopkins (115-113).
With the victory, Holt (25-2, 13 KOs), from Paterson, N.J., set the stage for a unification fight early next year against WBC champion Timothy Bradley.
Hopkins (28-1-1, 11 KOs), the nephew of former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins, headed back to Philadelphia with his first loss and the frustration of not being able to capitalize on his chance to win the title.
The 28-year-old Hopkins was scheduled to fight on the undercard before moving into the main bout on Monday when Ricardo Torres decided he was too sick to make the 140-pound weight limit and declared he would not be making the trip from his native Colombia.
Hopkins originally looked capable of pulling off an upset, much the way his uncle did two months ago in his lopsided victory over Kelly Pavlik in Boardwalk Hall's main arena. Hopkins was the busier fighter in the opening round, mixing left jabs with strong right hands that appeared to hurt Holt even though he smiled after most of the punches.
But Holt never got rattled to the point where he ventured from his game plan. Urged on by his vocal supporters, Holt consistently cut off the ring, pinned Hopkins to the ropes or corner, and punished him with body shots.
His rabid cheering section included New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who did not make the trip with his teammates for Sunday night's game at Dallas because of a knee injury. After the sixth round, Jacobs stood at his ringside seat and screamed at Holt to "finish him off."
Holt nearly did so, rocking Hopkins with a left hook the jaw that sent him stumbling backward on rubbery legs. Hopkins quickly regained his composure, but the punch had its intended effect. For most of the rest of the fight, Hopkins did little but dance around the ring and flick jabs. The tactic prevented him from suffering any more punishment, but did him no good in his bid to take the title.
The second half of the fight followed much of the same pattern until the 11th round. Finally realizing that he was giving away the fight, Hopkins became the aggressor and caught Holt with a strong right near the end of the round.
In the 12th, with fans of both fighters screaming, they traded punches for almost the entire three minutes before exchanging a hug at the final bell.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
