"The Tim Coleman fight, his management turned that down. Everybody who's ranked in the IBF right now turned the fight down for one reason or another. My gameplan right now, I'm supposed to be fighting in the IBF eliminator, but there's nobody to fight meÂ… I'm trying to get a fight for whatever date. I'm in the gym everyday. Nate Campbell turned the fight down after there was a purse bid. We had a purse bid, and then later that night, he signed with Golden Boy and that fight went out the window too. I'm the most feared fighter in this this division right now, I promise you," stated former jr. welterweight champion Kendall Holt as he shared his frustration about finding a challenger to step up to the plate to face him in an eliminator for the number contender spot. Check it out!
OTG: What up Kendall? We thought you had a fight coming up next month.
KH: If you are talking about the Tim Coleman fight, his management turned that down. Everybody who's ranked in the IBF right now turned the fight down for one reason or another. My gameplan right now, I'm supposed to be fighting in the IBF eliminator, but there's nobody to fight me.
Once I do get somebody to fight me, I'm gonna win that fight and then I'm going to challenge the winner of Alexander-Urango [Devon Alexander vs. Juan Urango]. Then I'm going to go after Timothy Bradley for the rematch and ultimately the trilogy. That's what I want. That's my 2010 planned out right there for you.
OTG: Are you still working on getting an opponent for the February 20th date?
KH: I'm trying to get a fight for whatever date. I'm in the gym everyday. Nate Campbell turned the fight down after there was a purse bid. We had a purse bid, and then later that night, he signed with Golden Boy and that fight went out the window too.
I'm the most feared fighter in this this division right now, I promise you. Call my lawyer, call my promoter, call my manager! They'll tell you everybody in the IBF turned the fight downÂ…they all were offered the fight.
OTG: The unification match with Bradley didn't go your way overall, though you had your moments. What happened and what didn't happen for you in that fight?
KH: In the 1st round, when I knocked him down with that big left hook, I reaggravated an injury I had. That was my second fight, my second training camp going through with a bruised knuckle, and when I hit him with that awesome left hook, you know, it kinda reaggravated that. And you know, my whole gameplan, my whole fight, everything's behind my jab, you know, so when I would land a solid left jab, my knuckle would just...I mean, it was like excruciating pain. I would have to lay off and back off for the pain to kinda die down. The coaches told me to postpone the fight, but to me, I didn't need to postpone the fight. I beat Demetrius Hopkins with the same injury and when I beat Ricardo Torres, I knocked him out with my right hand and at the time, my right hand was fractured and nobody even knew about it, not even my trainer. He didn't know about it until after the fight when I went to the hospital. I went to the hospital because I needed stitches in my eye and they ask you what else is hurting. I told him my hand, so they X-rayed my hand. The doctor said that I had old fractures, which I do, and my trainer was asking why I didn't tell him. Boxers have hand problems, especially guys who hit hard like I do. It's an occupational hazard. I've won the Golden Gloves with a bruised hand. I won some other professional contests with a bruised hand, so I didn't feel the need to back out of this fight because I had a bruised hand.
OTG: What's the current state of the injury, is it something that is going to be nagging at you for the rest of your career?
KH: This lengthy layoff has given me time to let it heal. And you know what? It's healed up. I've been sparring with some good pros the last couple of weeks, like Pawel Wolak; I've been sparring with him. I've been sparring with some other up-and-coming guys and it's been great. I've been hitting the bag, been doing the pad work...my shoulder and my left knuckle on my jab hand... it's been great! I'm 100% right now.
OTG: Gato Figueroa and Ricky Hatton are a couple of guys in your division. Gato likes to run his mouthÂ…
KH: (Cutting in) Gato Figueroa likes to run his mouth, but he doesn't back it up. There's really no challenge there for me to fight him. I could definitely see myself getting in there with the Ricky Hatton's of the world. Right now, whoever they put in there, that's who I'll fight, but my main and ultimate goal is to get a second and a third fight with Timothy Bradley.
OTG: What about Paulie Malignaggi?
KH: If the fight with me and Paulie happened...if they offered it to him, I think the money has to be significant for him to take that fight. He's sittin' on top of the world right now himself, so I don't know what kind of money or what kind of network would want that fight and if a network does, it would definitely have to be worth his while.
OTG: You've been in the ring with Bradley. Is he as good as everyone is saying he is right now or did he just beat you on that particular night?
KH: I think he got me on that particular night because, you know, I reaggravated that injury and the injury kept me from performing the way I wanted to. Had it not been for that injury so early in the fight, he wouldn't have beat me.
BE SURE TO LISTEN TO MUCH MORE FROM KENDALL HOLT
