By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Photos: Carlos Baeza/Thompson Boxing

In a crossroads clash of former world champions, former WBO junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt (27-4, 15 KOs) scored a spectacular third round KO over two-time IBF lightweight champion Julio Diaz (38-7, 27 KOs) on Friday night before a sellout crowd at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. Irony played a factor in the matchup. In preparation for his showdown against Holt, Diaz worked on staying away from the dangerous left hook that Holt throws. Unfortunately, that was the punch that ended matters in Holt’s favor and reignited his career in the process.

The bout headlined a 10-bout “Champion versus Champion” card, presented by Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing Promotions.

Both fighters were coming off technical knockout victories on the same card in January. On the undercard of the timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander fight in Pontiac, MI, Holt stopped Lenin Arroyo in the first round, while Diaz stopped Pavel Miranda in the eighth round.

Both fighters also suffered two-bout losing streaks two years ago. A loss to each fighter would serious hinder any world title aspirations and would relegate the fight to possible gatekeeper status.

In the first round, Holt landed two hard right hands to the head. Diaz took them well and even tried to get back at Holt. Right before the bell, an inadvertent clash of heads opened a cut over the left eye of Diaz.

Undaunted, Diaz was able to put his punches together. He would move in and out of Holt’s defense, even making Holt miss with right hands.

In the third round, as Holt backed up from being hit with a punch, Diaz came forward. Holt landed a left hook to the body, followed immediately with a left hook to the head that dropped Diaz hard to the canvas. Diaz stood up on very wobbly legs, prompting referee Marcos Rosales to stop the fight at 2:37.

“He thought I was hurt, but I was fine (before the knockout punch),” said Holt, was a former world title holder. “I knew from watching tapes that he leans to his right, so that is when I threw my left. My balance and leverage was a credit to the knockout.”

Asked about his future, Holt said, “I’m in the top three of the division. This fight was easy for me because I left all my extracurricular activities behind me. Now, my life is boxing and raising my son.”

“I got caught by the punch I had been preparing for in camp,” said Diaz, who was a two time lightweight world title holder.

Holt, from Paterson, NJ, improves to 27-4, 15 KO’s. Diaz, from Coachella, CA, falls to 38-7, 27 KO’s.

* * *

Unbeaten junior middleweight Jonathan Gonzalez moved to 13-0, 13 KOs with a seventh round TKO over Rudy Cisneros (12-3, 11 KOs). The bout was stopped at 1:50 of the seventh when Cisneros’ corner threw in the towel.

Super welterweight Jhon Ortega (5-0, 5 KO’s) remained unbeaten with a one-punch knockout over Marcus Thompkins in the fourth and final round. After controlling the action for most of the fight, Ortega dropped Thompkins (5-4-1, 2 KO’s) with a right hand to the head. Referee Ray Corona did not bother to count and waved the fight over at 27 seconds.

Junior Flyweight Seniesa Estrada was successful in her professional debut, winning a unanimous decision victory over Maria Ruiz. The 2009 amateur champion in her weight class and two-time junior Olympic champion had her way with Ruiz during the entire fight. The East Los Angeles resident stunned Ruiz in the third round, but Ruiz was able to weather the storm. Estrada even toyed with Ruiz, dropping her hands and daring her to throw a punch. All three judges, including Fightnews.com, scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Estrada. Ruiz, from Houston, TX, falls to 0-3.

In the walkout bout of the evening, super featherweight Joel Diaz stopped Dionicio Alvarez in the first round of a scheduled four round bout. The taller Diaz landed a left hook that shook Alvarez. Diaz followed that up with a combination that staggered Alvarez into a corner. Diaz threw repeated punches on a defenseless Alvarez until referee Ray Corona stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:08. Diaz, from Lancaster, CA, goes to 3-0, 2 KO’s. Alvarez, from Fresno, CA, drops to 1-3.

Notes:

- World middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, and former NBA player Tim Thomas took in the action from ringside.

- The next Gary Shaw Promotions event at the Chumash Casino Resort will take place on Friday, June 10th. For tickets, call 1-877-CHUMASH.

- Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas called the action from ringside for ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. Jaime Motta served as the moving reporter and provided commentary for ESPN Deportes.

- Ring announcing duties were shared by Thomas Treiber and Donald Denoyer.