by James Slater – Former WBO light-welterweight champion Kendall Holt, last seen losing a highly competitive fight with Timothy Bradley in April of last year, is set to return to action in February. According to BoxRec, “Rated R” will meet the once-beaten Tim Coleman on Feb. 20th at a venue to be determined.
Holt, 25-3(13) has had his share of out-of-the ring problems since the points loss to Bradley, but the 28-year-old remains one of the 140-pound division’s most recognisable names.. Holt is also an exciting fighter who is always in top shape and ready to fight. It will be good to see him back in the ring. Coleman, three years the younger man at age 25, scored his biggest win to date back on December 3rd, as he out-pointed and upset Mike Arnaoutis to win the USBA light-welterweight strap with a split decision victory. The fight with Holt is billed as a final eliminator for the IBF 140-pound belt, and as such Coleman will be very much hoping to extend his winning streak against world class fighters.
At 17-1-1(4) Coleman is nowhere near as experienced as Holt is, and with just 4 KO’s to his name he is no puncher. Holt, with 13 stoppages to his name, is no monster puncher either, but he has put some good men on the mat – Bradley and Ricardo Torres to name just two. The former “world” champion has to be looked at as the favourite to win next month’s fight. But Coleman has never been stopped (his sole loss coming on points to the undefeated James De La Rosa in October of 2008, the draw coming against Martinus Clay in the fight before that), he is a good boxer and his confidence is pretty high right now due to the win over Arnaoutis.
Holt will possibly be a little ring-rusty, having been out for over ten months, whereas Coleman boxed just a month ago, and he also had three fights in 2009. Could this prove to be a factor in the outcome of the contest? There is so much at stake for both men, that the fight will almost surely be a spiritedly-contested one. Holt wants to get himself back into the big time; while Coleman wants to get there for the first time in his career. With a shot at the IBF 140-pound crown currently held by Juan Urango in store for the winner (Urango faces Devon Alexander in a March 6th WBC-IBF unification bout next), both men will give their all.
If the rust doesn’t overly affect him and if he hasn’t lost any of his skill and talent in the ten months or so he’s been out, “Rated R” has to be my pick to win, probably on points. Coleman, nicknamed “Pit Bull,” may well enter the fight with more adrenalin pumping through his veins than Holt has pumping through his, though.