Camp notes for Holt

Ex-beltholder Kendall Holt, of Paterson, N.J., will challenge IBF junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson on Feb. 22 at The D.C. Armory in Peterson's home town of Washington, D.C.

Promoted by Gary Shaw in association with Head Bangers' Boxing, the fight between Peterson (30-1-1, 15 knockouts) and mandatory challenger Holt (28-5, 16 KOs) will be televised on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.

Peterson, who turned 29 on Jan. 24, is 3-0-1 with two knockouts since falling by unanimous decision to current WBO welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley as a 140-pounder in December of 2009, and is coming off a split-decision over Amir Khan in December of 2011.

Holt, 31, twice dropped Bradley to the canvas before losing his WBO title by unanimous decision in April of 2009, but has since gone 3-2 with three stoppage victories, including a second-round knockout of Tim Coleman in his last fight in March.

Prior to facing Coleman, Holt lost by split decision in October of 2011 to current RING, WBA and WBC 140-pound champion Danny Garcia, who owns a fourth-round knockout victory over Khan from July of last year.

Holt was out of the ring for an 11-month span after falling by seventh-round knockout to Kaizer Mabuza in February of 2010, but rebounded from that loss with a first-round stoppage of Lenin Arroyo in January of 2011.

Next up for Holt, who has also endured shoulder surgery, is Peterson, whose victory over Khan attracted around 10,000 fans to the Washington, D.C. Convention Center.

Below are camp notes regarding Holt that were issued by Shaw's promotional company:

Kendall Holt on training with Jesse Reid: "Right now I'm feeling real good about my progress with Jesse Reid during this training camp. 

"He pushes me real hard and that's what I need to be successful in this fight.  I'm on weight and I'm looking extremely great in sparring.  Jesse is a great trainer and I'm working harmoniously with him."

Kendall Holt on training in Los Angeles: "I've come out to L.A. for this training camp for a couple of reasons.

"One, I wanted to get away from the some of the distractions that sometimes get in the way when I train at home.  Second I wanted to spar with top level sparring partners and L.A. is loaded with great talent."

Kendall Holt on sparring: "I've been sparring with some of the best in Shane Mosley and Lucky Boy Omotoso who are giving me great work. 

"Everyone out here in L.A. brings rough and rugged sparring that I'm going to need to get ready for Lamont.  Words can't describe how grueling it is training with these guys but that's what's going to get me to the top."

Kendall Holt on coming off an 11-month layoff after shoulder surgery: "My shoulder is 100 percent healthy and I feel fantastic.  The explosiveness is there and I'm punching harder than ever. 

"Now that I'm back punching at full strength, I feel more confident in my ability to back up my opponents.  I feel like a whole new man."

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lem.satterfield@gmail.com