Flying beer cans will still be foremost in Kendall Holt's mind when he steps into the ring for his WBO light-welterweight title rematch with Ricardo Torres in the Planet Hollywood resort in Las Vegas this Saturday night.

The venue is light years from the Jumbo Saloon Country Club in Barranquilla, Colombia, where Torres scored a highly controversial 11th round knockout amid a downpour of cans and bottles in their first fight last September.

Holt cried foul after that fight, claiming he had been hit full in the face by a missile in the sixth round, and that, with a wild home crowd baying for his blood, referee Genaro Rodriguez stopped the fight prematurely.

Nevertheless the affable Holt, who was ahead on two of the three scorecards going into the round - no mean feat when fighting a local hero on his soil - has reason to believe the beer can saga is not all bad.

"It will be sweeter because all the controversy has actually made me a bigger star. It made me a more recognisable name. Hopefully winning this fight will make me a more recognisable face."

World Boxing Organisation officials investigated the circumstances surrounding the fight and deemed video evidence to be insufficiently clear to make a firm judgement on Holt's allegations.

But the continued fall-out from the affair made an eventual rematch a virtual certainty. That it is taking place in such a high-end environment second time around is primarily thanks to a Colombian man with a beer can.

"I cried," said Holt, 23-2 (12Kos) from New Jersey. "The fight shouldn't have been stopped. There are shots of me being hit in the face with a can. From that moment on I was not there mentally.

"I was just concerned about me, my entourage, my trainers and everyone from America making it out of there if I did go after Torres and knock him out. Until that point I had only seen one security guard."

Torres, 32-1 with 28 knockouts, is a prime candidate to usurp Ricky Hatton as the widely regarded world number one at 140lbs. His only defeat was a seventh round stoppage by Miguel Cotto in 2005.

Unsurprisingly the 28-year-old recalls the first fight against Holt rather differently. "I don't remember the first fight being controversial at all," he said. "I beat Holt fair and square, and moved on.

"I know Holt didn't get hit with anything except my punches. That's why he went down. I was down in the sixth round and knew I had to get up and do something special. I knew I had to take Holt out and I did."

The alleged beer can incident may remain open to conjecture but what appears certain from footage of the fight is that referee Rodriguez acted hastily to bring an end to the proceedings.

Holt was on his feet and behind his guard when Rodriguez jumped in to wave the contest off, sparking wild celebrations and a near-ringside riot as fans rushed through the VIP section to reach the ring.

"If we have premature stoppages like that, we will have no such thing as the Arturo Gattis and Mickey Wards," protested Holt. "Even if a guy is stunned or hurt, it doesn't mean he shouldn't be allowed to fight.

"Some of the best fights in boxing history were fought when guys were hurt, the people who come back to win the fight in the last second or the last round. You stop a guy who can't defend himself any more, not because he's hurt."

All of which lingering resentment adds spice to a contest which, in normal circumstances, may have had to have settled for chief support status, if indeed there had been the desire to make the fight at all.

The first contest was not televised in the United States, where pay-per-view network Showtime baulked at the costs involved, but their cameras are ready at ringside for the rematch.

None of which is intended to imply that this is anything less than a worthy contest. Holt, who has fought once since, beating veteran Ben Tackie, is intent on finally claiming the title he believes is rightfully his.

Torres has not fought since beating Holt. He will start as a narrow favourite to repeat his late stoppage victory in the rematch. Only this time, errant beer cans will not be a contributing factor.

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