By Scoop Malinowski

“He is the winner by spectacular knockout, he is the new WBO Junior Welterweight champion, Kendall R-Rated, HOLT!” announced Jimmy Lennon.

The newly crowned champion Kendall Holt may not have his belt yet, but no one in the boxing world is not aware of what the talented New Jersey man accomplished on July 5 in Las Vegas. Holt has style, flash, charisma, talent and personality plus. We spoke with Holt at his home in West Paterson, N.J. two weeks after his stunning win against Ricardo Torres.

Boxinginsider: First of all, are you aware that you are on the cover of Boxing News magazine? (It’s a prestigious weekly publication based in London since 1909. They used as a recent cover a fantastic photo of a beaming and jubilant Holt holding his belt high with his right hand with a caption that read, ‘Lightning Holt.’)

Kendall Holt: “No I didn’t know that. I had no way of knowing., nobody told me.”

Boxinginsider: It’s a great cover you will love it. I will send it to you today. Have you ever been on a magazine cover before?

Kendall Holt: “I had a small picture on Boxing Digest last year…Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins were on the cover, the August 2007 issue.”

Boxinginsider: It was an amazing win for you. But how shocked were you to be on the deck ten seconds in? What’s going through your mind that moment?

Kendall Holt: “What went through my mind is, I’m not really hurt. Just continue to fight. The second one after wasn’t really a knockdown. Once I got up he hit me again. That’s when I got mad. I’m usually a boxer but I can fight too. I thought, I’m gonna fight now. I took a page out of the Roy Jones book, he musta forgot I could punch too. He showed me no respect. The only way to get respect in the boxing ring is to take it. And I took it. I took the respect and the championship belt with me.”

Boxinginsider: How did you celebrate the long-awaited victory?

Kendall Holt: “The way I celebrated that night was I was at the hospital all night to get five stitches in my eye. I was at the hospital all night. A couple of my friends wanted to throw a party for me but I said, Wait till I get the belt.”

Boxinginsider: What a hard way to celebrate such an exciting and joyful win. Did you get the belt yet?

Kendall Holt: “I still have not got that belt yet. Today, I called the WBO and everybody speaks Spanish there. My manager told me they’re back-ordered. What does back-ordered mean?”

Boxinginsider: You got me. So Torres took the belt with him after the fight?

Kendall Holt: “The belt in the ring is not the belt the other fighter purchased. You have to give that belt back and you purchase your own.”

Boxinginsider: How much does the belt cost?

Kendall Holt: “I’m not even sure. $2600 I think. The NABO belt was $1200. The WBO Intercontinental belt was $1200 too, if I’m not mistaken.”

(Note: I wonder how much the NHL charges each player to engrave their name on the Stanley Cup. Wonder how much Wimbledon charged Rafael Nadal to take home the silver cup. Come on boxing sanctioning bodies, these fighters earn their belts in the ring and should not have to pay a dime for it.)

Boxinginsider: Did Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants (a good friend) come to Las Vegas to support you?

Kendall Holt: “He came out on Friday night. Plaxico Burress called the day before.”

Boxinginsider: Does it help you to see a guy like Brandon Jacobs come all the way out to support you and be there with you?

Kendall Holt: “It does. He just became a world champion in another sport. To see him there just gives me a lot of support. He’s a Super Bowl champion, he just won it too. To see him there gave me more motivation.”

Boxinginsider: What is the reason you are champ now?

Kendall Holt: “Instead of trying to box safe I fought standing toe to toe. I stood in the pocket like Eli Manning and delivered.”

Boxinginsider: What makes Ricardo Torres tricky to box?

Kendall Holt: “He’s a little awkward, he’s not tricky to box. But you just gotta be so focused. Because in one split-second the fight could be over. I turned my eye, glanced over to the right for a second and he caught me.”

Boxinginsider: What made you look to the right? Do you remember?

Kendall Holt: “I don’t know, I just remember looking to the right. And me getting hit.”

Boxinginsider: How has life changed since you became a world champion?

Kendall Holt: “I’m noticed in a lot more places when I got out now. I didn’t know the fight generated that much hype. I’m recognized by more people now, sign a lot more autographs and take a lot more pictures with people. I’m just wanting to get the belt. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. That’s why I go back and look at pictures - to remind me that I do have the belt. I don’t really like watching the fight that much because I don’t like seeing myself go down. I hate going down. But I get up. The first thing I’m gonna do when I go back to the gym is work on strengthening my neck and legs.”

For more on Kendall Holt check out his Biofile.