(JAN 26) WBAN received a
press release this morning in regards to Holly Holm fighting
Cecilia Braekhus.
In the press release they stated
the following:
Less than 24 hours after the World Boxing Council (WBC)
Female Championship Committee ordered a mega-fight between
undefeated WBC welterweight championCecilia "First Lady"
Braekhus (21-0, 5 KOs) and 14-time, three-division world
championHolly "The Preacher's Daughter" Holm (32-2-3, 9 KOs),
Braekhus' promoter, Sauerland Boxing, notified Holm's promoter,
Fresquez Productions, that Braekhus had instead agreed to fight
45-year-old Mia "The Knockout" St. John (47-12-2, 18 KOs) on
April 13 in Denmark.
The WBC had awarded the distinction of the Diamond Belt for the
Braekhus-Holm fight because "it is regarded as one of the best
fights in the history of female boxing." Sauerland and Fresquez
had discussions prior to the WBC's order and, if the promoters
were unable to reach an agreement - negotiations have now broken
off due to Sauerland's announcement that Braekhus is fighting
St. John - that the WBC will conduct a purse bid Friday,
February 15 at its headquarters in Mexico City.
Sauerland has reportedly requested an exception from the
ordered mandatory defense for Braekhus in order for her to fight
St. John. Fresquez has requested an answer from the WBC
regarding how the Braekhus-Holm purse bid will proceed, as well
as having additionally petitioned the World Boxing Association (WBA)
to order its welterweight champion, Braekhus, to fight No. 1
challenger Holm in a mandatory defense.
Last December, Sauerland sent a video tape to Fresquez and
media outlets, in which Braekhus challenged the WBC & WBA No.
1-rated Holm to a Sauerland-proposed July fight in Las Vegas,
which was quickly accepted, pending final terms.
"This is an embarrassment for our sport," Fresquez said.
"Holly Holm is the Queen of Boxing and she was ready to fight
Braekhus. They've been using Holly's name for the last two
years, so they could build Braekhus' name, and we've been
chasing her for that long. Based on their decision to fight Mia,
they obviously aren't serious about fighting Holly. I don't
understand why they challenged Holly and then, after we had
accepted their challenge, ducked her again. Maybe they expected
certain demands from us, giving them an easy way out of the
fight, to make them look good in the media and public. In that
video, Breakhus made a big deal about Holly being knocked out by
(Ann Sophie) Mathis, but Holly showed the heart of a champion by
sticking to her game plan to win their rematch. Braekhus used
Holly's same game plan to beat Mathis. Sauerland and Braekhus
have turned their backs, once again, on being in the greatest
women's fight of all-time, which is another black eye for
women's boxing."
St. John is a two-time world champion who has lost six of 11
fights since her 2005 defeat by way of a 10-round shutout
decision (100-90 on all three judges' scorecards) to Holm.
Here's a look at a direct comparison between Holm and St. John,
in terms of the more legitimate challenger for Braekhus, who
also reigns as the World Boxing Organization (WBO) 147-pound
female champion...
Holm held the WBC 147-pound division belt in 2008 but
relinquished it after one successful title defense. She has also
been world champion in the light welterweight and light
middleweight divisions.
Fresquez announced that Holm (2-0) would be in a Bellator
mixed-martial-arts fight on February 28 at Santa Ana Star Center
in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. "We're not waiting around to fight
anybody," Fresquez noted. "Holly can be a world champion in MMA,
too, but boxing is her first love. We can't make Braekhus fight
Holly. Unfortunately, the dilemma for Holly is that there just
aren't any big names left for her to box, at least those ready
and willing to fight her."
WBAN
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