Kendall Holt’s KO Over Diaz in Main Event

Fans attending the ESPN “Friday Night Fights” live show at Chumash Casino Resort Santa Ynez certainly got their money’s worth during an evening that offered a whopping ten bouts of action in front of a huge crowd in the Samala Showroom.

The card at Chumash, promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in association with Thompson Boxing Promotions, took place on the auspicious date of Friday the 13th but there was nothing “unlucky” for some of the tough warriors who came out victorious when the final bell rang.

Located in the Central Coast of California, this is one of my favorite venues to catch live boxing. With its intimate setting there’s not a bad seat in the house for the fans, who can actually hear the thundering punches land. Scheduled for this latest “FNF” installment was a highly-anticipated main event touted as “Champion vs. Champion: Kendall Holt vs. Julio Diaz.”

For 29-year-old Holt (27-4, 15 KOs), this was billed as a “crossroads” battle for the New Jersey boxer. Facing Coachella’s Diaz, Holt was looking to add an all-important “W” to his ledger after being defeated by Timothy Bradley in 2009 and Kaizer Mabuza in 2010. The junior welterweight fought in January of this year, beating Lenin Arroyo by a TKO in the opening round. A victory for Team Holt would help sway the opinion that Holt, a former WBO Light Welter champ, is still a viable and top contender in the hunt for another world title.

In his path was the tough Julio “The Kidd” Diaz (38-7, 27 KOs), longtime veteran of the game and a former IBF Lightweight champion, who’s squared off against Pavel Miranda, Juan Diaz, Jose Luis Castillo, Angel Manfredy, among many others. The Diaz name is boxing royalty in the Coachella Valley. Training out of the Indio Boys and Girls Club, Julio works alongside brothers Antonio, a former WBO champ, and trainer Joel Diaz, whose prized pupil is none other than WBC and WBO Junior Welter champ Timothy Bradley.

Expecting another “big bash” at Chumash, the sold-out crowd were on the edge of their seats as the live TV broadcast got underway. As the two warriors stood in their respective corners, the audience was more than ready for the fireworks to begin in the main attraction which was scheduled for ten rounds. At his open workout held earlier in the week, Diaz was quoted as saying, “It’s going to be a very exciting fight. It’s a dangerous fight; I know Kendall Holt is coming very prepared to get back into his position but I am going to be ready for him.”

Unfortunately for the underdog Diaz, only the first part of his assessment was correct.

In the opening stanza, things got off to a rocky start with an accidental head butt between the two combatants. As the duo went toe to toe, Holt tagged Diaz with two hard rights upstairs. With blood beginning to trickle from above his eyebrow, Julio showed his warrior mentality–and his cojones–by spitting and gesturing to Kendall to “bring it” as the crowd roared its approval. In the second round, Diaz (who’s scored 27 knockouts during his career) came back taking it to Holt while landing shots to the body and trying to sneak in a couple of combos as the faster Holt continued his own assault.

Then came the third–and ultimately–the final round for the courageous Diaz, 30. The end came prematurely for the Coachella fighter, who had a large local following traveling up north to cheer him on. But upsetting a Diaz victory party was one Kendall “Rated R” Holt. After Diaz connected with a left hook backing up Holt toward the ropes, the boxer from back east came back with an answer of his own. The power puncher timed a picture-perfect left hook, delivered immediately after Holt hit Diaz with a left to the body.

“The Kidd” grasped the ropes and did get back on his feet as referee Marcos Rosales began the count. Then after looking into Diaz’s eyes, the official signaled an end to the bout at 2:37 in the third.

The left hook was precise, powerful and put an immediate end to the contest.

Unfortunately for Julio Diaz, the Holt TKO was one for the highlight reels, capturing “Shot of the Night” honors.

But with win was a bittersweet one for the Paterson, NJ slugger. After the bout the camp confirmed that Holt hurt his right shoulder during the bout and would be out for six months.

Team Holt says with this win, Kendall has to be considered in the Top 5 in his division. And before the shoulder injury, Holt was also already calling out a champion who defeated him two years ago in Montreal. Holt knocked down Bradley in the first and last rounds, but the “Desert Storm” came back raging to win by a unanimous decision when scores were read.

Even with the shoulder mishap, don’t expect the Holt camp to rest on their laurels. According to his Twitter account, the ex-champ is already back in the gym stretching and jumping rope. Expect the tough former world titlist to come back even stronger after the 180-day hiatus to allow his shoulder to heal.

In the co-main of Jonathan Gonzalez (13-0, 13 KOs) vs. Rudy Cisneros (12-3, 11 KOs), Gonzales, seemingly sharper, accurate and more powerful of the two, connected with solid hooks along with a stiff jab landing on the game Cisneros who kept coming forward. In round four, great action in the center of the ring as the two traded hard body shots culminating in a vicious inside battle. Cisneros kept coming forward using speed and lateral movement to stay out of harm’s way as the fans chanted “Rudy, Rudy, Rudy” for the crowd favorite.

But Gonzales used his combinations to score effectively against Cisneros. In later rounds, as Gonzales had him against the ropes with the fans sensing their man was in trouble, began to chant again for Cisneros as the tough foe made it out of the round. In round seven, Gonzalez increased his punch output in pinning the brave Cisneros against the ropes in another one-sided assault. The red corner had seen enough and threw in the towel, giving Gonzales the victory, and his perfect record, at 1:50 seconds in the seventh.

In the undercard action, were eight additional bouts.

Kurtiss Colvin (5-0, 4 KOs) vs. Cameron Allan (3-7, 1 KO): Round two knockout by Colvin. After scoring a knockdown in the second stanza, Colvin continued his massive assault against the overwhelmed yet game Allan. Colvin landed a hard right that echoed through the building and continued the barrage until referee Ray Corona stepped in to wave of the bout at 2:52.

Daniel Roman (2-0, 1 KO) vs. Alfredo Madrigal (1-1): Danny “Baby-Faced Assassin” Roman had an impressive showing against one tough kid in Alfredo Madrigal. The fans went wild watching blistering attacks from both boxers, who engaged in an all out firefight. With nonstop action never ceasing, cheers were heard from the get go. In the second frame, Roman scored with body shot as Madrigal went down. Madrigal, a top former amateur trained by the Diaz camp from Indio, stayed in the game as Roman kept up the strong attack. In round three, the pair met center ring, fittingly so, for one last brutal exchange as the fans cheered in appreciation. It went to the scorecards with Roman, a new pro out of Thompson Boxing Promotions, besting Madrigal with a 40-35 shutout from all three judges.

Julian Williams (6-0-1, 4 KOs) vs. Francisco Santana (12-2-1, 6 KOs): Williams used his jab to effectively control the rounds while trying to find his range. With Santana’s face reddening and the boxer thumbing at his nose, Williams continued the pounding and controlling the action in early rounds. But the tides turned in round five when Santana got everyone’s attention beginning with tagging Williams hard upstairs. The scrappy Santa Barbara boxer got a huge second wind against his exhausted foe forcing him against a neutral corner as the two traded punches in great inside fighting. The crowd roared, standing on their feet heading into the sixth and final round. The firestorm let loose as Santana, full of heart and courage, stood toe to toe the last two rounds, punching almost nonstop in his all-offensive attack. Would it be enough to beat Williams? With the officials scores of 57-57 from all three officials, their firefight was declared a draw as the boo birds came out.

Seniesa Estrada (1-0) vs. Maria Ruiz (0-3): In an anticipated female fight and making her pro debut, was East L.A.’s “Golden Girl,” Seniesa Estrada. The amateur standout came out fierce at the opening bell, circling her foe and waiting to attack. Making her entrance into the pro ranks, Seniesa switched stances, showcasing good movement, fast combos and slick moves from the 18-year-old. As the minutes continued, Estrada became even more assertive aiming shots and landing combination punches toward in the later rounds. The teen warrior sealed her first pro victory with the judges tallies of 40-36 across the board. Look for the Seniesa to stay busy as in her new career as professional prizefighter with a possible bout in June looming on the horizon.

Rufino Serrano (9-3) vs. Ramon Flores (3-12-2, 3 KOs): Wild swinging from the two held the fans’ interest. It was a rough-and-tumble affair that the crowd loved.
Unanimous decision for Santa Maria’s Serrano with scores of 57-56, 58-57 and 58-55.

Joel Diaz (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Dionicio Alvarez (1-3): Diaz, out of Lancaster, looked good while adding to his win ledger. In the first round, referee quickly waved off the bout in 2:08, making it a quick night for Diaz.

Anthony Dirrell (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Alberto Mercedes (14-18-1, 10 KOs): Dirrell scores a third round 3 2:48 KO

Jhon Ortega (5-0-1, 5 KOs) vs. Marcus Thompkins (5-4-1, 2 KOs): Ortega scores a KO at 27 seconds in round four. “Knockout Artist” Ortega improves to 5-0 with five knockouts.

After ten fights on tap, Santa Ynez Valley fight fans really got more bang for their buck with some great action on the canvas. Also taking in all the action at ringside were Argentinean superstar and WBC Middleweight Champ Sergio Martinez, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs (with the Holt camp), actor and boxer Holt McCallany (FX’s “Lights Out” star) and ESPN commentator and famed trainer Teddy Atlas.

The NEXT show at Chumash will be taking place on June 10 with Lateef Kayode vs. Matt Godrey in a Showtime broadcast.

See you at the fights!

Photos by Ray Flores