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5'8" southpaw Holly Holm from
Sandia Heights in Albuquerque, New Mexico was born on October 17 1981.
The preacher's daughter grew up in Bosque Farms and graduated from
Manzano
High School in 2000 and studied for a year at the University of New
Mexico. She played soccer
and tried gymnastics, swimming
and diving before getting into boxing and kickboxing.
Holly's path to a boxing
career began with aerobics. "I started aerobics to keep in
shape, saw the (kickboxing) class, thought it looked pretty cool,
so I thought I'd try it for one fight and see what it was like,"
says Holm.
Her aerobics instructor was Mike Winkeljohn, who also taught
kickboxing.
Winklejohn soon saw Holm's potential. "She's got that
instinct," he says, "When she gets hit, she knows
it's time to come back.
I wish I could bottle (what she has) and sell it."
"(Boxing) came easier
to me than I thought it would," says Holm. "When I
first started, my punches seemed real clumsy,
but Mr. Winkeljohn is a great instructor. He helped me with my
technique, and he felt ... he could work with me."
Holly won a national amateur
championship in Kansas City, MO in the Fall of 2001,
her last kickboxing appearance before her pro debut. Her overall
amateur
kickboxing record stood at 6-0-2.
She made her professional
kickboxing debut on June 1 2002 in an IKKC
five-rounder against Valerie Anthonson of Grand Junction, Colorado
at Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, north of Albuquerque.
Her pro boxing debut came on
January 25, 2002 at the Isleta Casino and Resort south of Albuquerque.
Holly weighed in at 141 lbs and
won by a TKO over debut fighter Martha Orozco (141¾ lbs) of Denver,
Colorado
at 1:38 in the third.
On June 21, 2002 at Sky City
Casino in Acoma, New Mexico she won her second pro
fight by a TKO over debut fighter Terrie Carillo at 0:24 in the first
round.
Holly Holm vs. Martha Orozco in August 2002
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On August 17, 2002 at Santa
Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, New Mexico,
Holly (144 lbs) won a four-round unanimous (40-35) decision in a
rematch with Martha Orozco
(142¾ lbs). Holm controlled this fight from the start, putting
Orozco down for a six count with a barrage of
punches in the opening round and staggering her again near the end of
the stanza.
Holm out-punched Orozco in the second but both looked tired
at the bell. Orozco wilted with Holm working her over against the ropes
in
the third, but held on gamely. She survived a solid pounding in the
fourth to end the fight
on her feet. Holm advanced to 3-0-0 (2 KO) while Orozco fell
to
0-2.
On September 6, 2002 at Santa
Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, New Mexico,
Holly (149¼ lbs) won a lop-sided four-round unanimous
(40-32,40-32,40-30) decision over Bonnie Mann (148¼ lbs)
of Morrisville, North Carolina. Holm dominated the bout with pounding
straight lefts
and knocked Mann down twice in each of the second and
third rounds. Mann, who fell to
0-2-0 as a pro boxer, had won the bronze medal at 147 lbs at the 1998
US Nationals and again at 156 lbs in 1999.
Holly was KO'd by Trisha Hill in this Muay Thai bout
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On April 5, 2003 at Cowboy's
Bar
and Grill, in Albuquerque, Trisha
"TNT" Hill
of Kennesaw, Georgia knocked Holly out
in the fourth round of a five-round 139-lb Muay Thai bout.
Hill, a featherweight who had moved up two weight classes to face
Holly, gave up
the weight advantage believing that she could KO Holly to get the
victory.
Trisha picked her shots carefully and when Holly started to tire in
the third round, she went for the KO in the fourth, tagging .
Holly with a couple of jabs and then stepping in with a right that
knocked Holly out cold.
As reported by Chris Cozzone of New Mexico Boxing,
"Keeping the shorter Hill at bay, Holly managed to
take the first two rounds with her kicks.
Hill won the exchanges at close quarters but Holm scored the damaging
blows with her feet.
The tide changed in the second part of Round Three when Hill landed a
bomb of a right hook
that had Holm staggering. After tying up and then using kicks to fight
back, Holm showed
a big heart trying to win back the round. Hill was relentless in
closing the distance and
suckering Holm into brawling. Early into the fourth, she landed a
picture perfect right hand that
flattened Holm to the canvas. While Holly continued to throw a
half-hearted left right while
horizontal, the ref jumped in and immediately stopped the contest after
seeing Holm's eyes
roll dangerously back."
On August 9, 2003 in Baraboo,
Wisconsin Holly TKO'd Alisa Cantwell at 1:30 in the
first round of a kickboxing bout.
Holly Holm vs. Stephanie Jaramillo in August 2003
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On August 26, 2003 at Sandia
Casino in Albuquerque,
in a much-anticipated cross-town showdown between two unbeaten
fighters,
Holly (141 lbs) won a four-round majority (40-37, 39-37,38-38)
decision over Stephanie Jaramillo (142 lbs) from Albuquerque's South
Valley.
Holm was the early aggressor, landing solid straight lefts to
Jaramillo’s face. Jaramillo stormed back in the second but Holm
out-boxed
her and landed more good right hooks, straight lefts and combinations.
Jaramillo landed
some power shots cleanly in a good third round. Holm didn't seem fazed
and
closed the fight out well in the fourth, again landing with hard
straight lefts
to Jaramillo's face. Holm outworked the shorter
but determined Jaramillo and is now reportedly being considered as an
opponent for
Mia St. John. Holm was now 5-0-0 (2 KO) while Jaramillo slipped to
3-1-0 (2 KO).
Holly Holm rematch vs. Stephanie Jaramillo in October 2003
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On October 3, 2003 at Sandia
Casino in Albuquerque,
Holly (142 lbs) and Stephanie Jaramillo (139¾ lbs) battled to
a six-round (58-56 Holm, 58-56 Jaramillo, 57-57) draw in a rematch of
their August four-rounder.
Holm dominated the opening round but Jaramillo turned it around in the
second, coming back with
hard counter left hooks and
straight rights to keep herself in the bout. Holm used her jab well and
out-landed Jaramillo
in most rounds, bloodying her mouth, but Jaramillo landed the hardest
shots of the fight and
wobbled Holm in the fifth round to keep the bout a tossup on the
scorecards. Holm remained unbeaten as a pro boxer at
5-0-1 (2 KO) while former US national amateur team member Jaramillo was
3-1-1 (2 KO).
[Full
fight report and photos]
Holly Holm vs. Angel Martinez in December 2003
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On December 12, 2003 at Kiva
Auditorium in Albuquerque,
Holly (144 lbs) won a six-round unanimous
(59-54,59-55,59-55) decision over
Angel Martinez
(142 lbs) of Dallas, Texas, who fell to
2-1-0 (1 KO).
After the fight, Martinez said
she thought it was close, then added
the kind of remark that I never understand when you've just lost ...
"I don't think she's much of a fighter. She's a
wild boxer. Anybody
can throw wild punches and overwhelm you. She's overrated."
Excuse me, but if you've lost a fight, don't say
the girl who just beat you
"isn't much of a fighter", as that makes you even less of
one!
On April 10, 2004 at the
Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
a near sellout crowd of 2220 saw Holly (140 lbs) TKO Janae Romero
Archuleta at 1:09 in the first round of a
scheduled six rounder that was the card's co-main event.
Holm came out like a whirlwind to score an explosive victory over the
usually
rugged Archuleta, who fell to 3-4 (2 KO). Holm snapped Archuleta’s head
back with a stiff jab in the
opening moments of the bout, then pounded Archuleta around the ring
before the referee intervened to stop the carnage.
“She should’ve taken
the money yesterday.”said Holm, referring
to the
weigh-in when Holm had come in a pound over the contract weight.
Archuleta’s camp refused to take extra money and forced an
already-drained Holm to spend the next two hours sweating off the
excess pound.
“She got me mad,” said Holm.
“She made it so easy for me, she came out with that slow jab and we’d
been working on throwing hooks over a jab
and timing it. When I had her up against the ropes, I knew she was
hurting so I pushed for the end.”
Holly Holm fought Angel Martinez to a draw in May 2004
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On May 15, 2004 at the Sky Ute
Casino in Ignacio, Colorado,
Holly Holm
and Angel Martinez
(2-1-1, 2 KOs) of Dallas, Texas
fought to a six-round majority draw (59-55 for Holm, but two
57-57 scorecards).
Holm appeared to control and outland Martinez
but Martinez's crisp rights connected enough to win her several rounds
on the judges'
scorecards.
Holm moved to 7-0-2 (3 KOs) while Martinez progressed to 2-1-1, (2 KOs)
Martinez started slowly while the southpaw
Holm peppered her with jabs and an occasional straight left. At the
end of the round, they started to mix it up and Martinez landed a good
right inside.
Martinez took over in the second round, walking Holm into a solid short
right whenever
Holly tried to throw something at close quarters.
Holm adjusted in the third and out-hustled a less-busy Martinez.
In the fourth, they went toe-to-toe with Holm, now bleeding from her
nose,
giving more than she was getting. Holly landed well with uppercuts and
right hooks
while Martinez focused on her highly effective right.
The final two rounds saw Holm trying to outbox Martinez, throwing more
often and out-
flurrying on their many close exchanges, but Martinez landing the
cleanest, hardest
shots.
Both camps thought they’d won the fight. Martinez’s trainer, Pete
Rojas, thought that
Angel's cleaner shots should have given her the win while Holm’s
trainer, Mike Winkeljohn,
felt that Holly had won by controlling the action better.
On
June 27, 2004 at Sandia Casino in Albuquerque,
Italian Rita Turrisi (140 lbs), fighting out of Las Vegas, won by TKO
over Holly (140 lbs)
in the fourth round. Holm's corner threw in the towel due to a deep
three-inch cut
under Holm's eye.
Holm was the aggressor in the first, landing big lefts as well as an
elbow or two
at close quarters. In the second, Turrisi started to time her shots
better while
Holm tried to work on the outside. After one messy exchange, a mouse
appeared under
Holm's left eye. Turrisi won the third while Holm, now bleeding from an
open gash
under her eye as well as from her nose, dominated the fourth
with her big lefts. Holm might have won the bout but the cut caused her
corner to stop the fight between the
fourth and fifth rounds. The fight was then automatically awarded to
Turrisi by TKO instead of going to the scorecards pending the referee’s
decision on what had caused the cut. Turrisi improved her record to
3-4 while Holm dropped to 7-1-2 (3 KO).
Holly won the IBA junior welter title vs. Terri Blair
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On December 10, 2004 at Isleta
Resort and Casino near Albuquerque,
Holly (138 lbs) rebounded from her first pro boxing loss by winning the
vacant IBA women's junior welterweight title with a
ten-round unanimous (99-91,99-91,96-94) decision over
Terri Blair
(138¼ lbs) of Louisville, Kentucky. Fighting her
first ten-rounder,
Holm made Blair chase her round the ring and then
out-boxed her, but she also won the close-quarter battles.
Blair had taken the fight on a week’s notice after Denver’s
Angie Poe got the flu, setting up a rare
two-southpaw match-up between Holm and Blair.
According
to Chris Cozzone, "Blair spent the night walking into jabs
and straight left hands when she got close enough,
yet she never gave up. After four rounds of trying to pressure Holm,
eating that jab and left hand every time she closed the
gap, Blair could do little but continually shake her head at Holm as if
to say, ‘I ain’t hurt.’" Blair's corner then
tried to taunt Holm, calling out “track star! Track star!”, and urging
their own fighter to use her overhand left. In the
fifth round, Holm started to trade with Blair at close quarters,
outworking her with three or four-punch combinations before
slipping away. Blair finally got to Holm in the sixth and landing
several overhand lefts that visibly hurt Holm. Blair could
not repeat her success in the seventh as Holm out-hit her in some of
the fight's best action. Holm then went on to out-hustle
Blair for the rest of the bout.
Holm improved to 8-1-2 (3 KO) with the win while Blair fell to 5-7-1 (3
KO).
“I feel awesome,” Holm
said in the ring after being declared the new champ.
“Blair had a lot of power and she rang my bell in
the second round. But we watched and studied a tape of her last fight.
We
knew that footwork and technique was going to win.”
On April 15, 2005 in
Albuquerque, Holly (142¾ lbs) won a four-round unanimous
(40-36,40-36,40-36) decision over veteran Gloria Ramirez (143¾ lbs) of
El Paso, Texas, who
took the fight at short notice. Ramirez fell to 9-14-5 (1 KO) with the
loss.
Holly dominated late sub Lisa Lewis in June 2005
©
Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On June 24, 2005 at Isleta
Casino in Isleta, New Mexico, Holly (140
lbs) defended her IBA Junior Welterweight title with a lop-sided
eight-round TKO win over late replacement
Lisa Lewis (136 lbs) of Fresno, California. According
to Chris Cozzone's
report,
Holm dazzled Lewis on the outside with jabs and
straight rights then also obliged Lewis by fighting in close, battering
Lewis
with furious combinations to keep her on defense. "The
biggest question was
whether Holm's hands could take the beating they were giving to Lewis."
according to Cozzone. "She was tough and I was getting tired
hitting her,"
Holm told Cozzone,
adding "She hit me with a right in the sixth round that had
me foggy, but I
knew I was winning every round." The shorter, lighter Lewis,
who had
substituted for the injured Layla McCarter on the card,
couldn't
answer the bell for the ninth round. "I just
didn't have it tonight," Lewis said, "My
punches weren't there."
Lewis fell to 7-12 (3 KOs) with her first loss by
stoppage.
Holly vs. Christy
Martin in September 2005
© Copyrighted photo by Mary Ann Owen
On September 16, 2005 at the Isleta Casino in Isleta, New Mexico,
before a sellout crowd of 3000, Holly (142½ lbs) won a clear 10-round
unanimous (100-92,98-92,100-92) decision over 37-year-old Christy Martin (5'4", 141½ lbs)
of Orlando, Florida in the Main Event.
According to Chris Cozzone of
New
Mexico
Boxing,
'Holm made it look
easy; made the legendary Martin look amateurish." Martin
tried to close with Holm in the first two rounds but was unable to
corral Holm who was using her jab and ring movement to control the
action and stay out of trouble. Chris Cozzone reports that "Holm
started to open in Round Three, not only firing her jab but taking the
fight to Martin ... Holm's straight left found her mark while Martin,
appearing clumsy, sailed her big rights and left hooks through empty
air. In between rounds, Martin's corner implored her to close the
distance and keep her focus, but in Round Four, it only got worse for
her. Holm put on a beautiful clinic, firing big hooks and straight
rights and backing up Martin for the first time, then returning to her
flawless stick-and-move game plan. Early in Round Five, Holm staggered
Martin with a rapid combination, whipping the crowd to a frenzy. Martin
could not get off; could not close the gap; could not land a solid
punch, and her face was starting to show, both the frustration and the
marks of Holm's jabs and lefts. Martin had a slightly better round in
the Sixth, landing hooks to Holm and forcing her to stay on the
defensive--at least for the first minute. Then, it was all Holm again,
using her footwork and picking her moments to fight. Holm and Martin
exchanged rights as Round Seven began, but Holm out-muscled the
veteran, forcing her to cover up and back away. By the end of the
round, a mouse was swelling under Martin's right eye --once again,
another round for the home town girl. Despite the desperate insistence
of her corner to get to work, Martin could not get on track. Holm's
rights and lefts connected with frequency in Round Eight, continuing to
execute a perfect, dominating game plan. Martin came out aggressive and
desperate in Round Nine, and made an argument to actually win a round.
Despite landing her hardest shots on Holm--a left to the body, a
straight right to the chin -- Holm calmly took the punches and answered
back with straight lefts. The final round saw the best exchange yet,
but once again, it was Holm all the way, connecting with a left/right
combination and winning the round on the outside, landing shot after
shot."
Holly was named WBAN's
Fighter of the Month for October 2005.
Holly vs. Mia St.John in December 2005
© Copyrighted photo by Mary Ann Owen
On December 8, 2005 at Isleta
Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly (139½ lbs) won a ten-round
unanimous shutout (100-90) decision over Mia
St. John (5'6", 139 lbs) of Oxnard, California defending her
IBA 140-lb world title. According
to Boxing Scene's Andy Rivera, "Round
one started with St. John dancing around Holm, avoiding any contact she
could. Holm immediately answered with a series of combos that backed
St. John into the ropes several times. For every impending jab, it
looked as if St. John was just trying to avoid being dropped to the
canvas as opposed to just being hit. With Holm dominating the round,
the crowd was sent into a frenzy cheering on their local favorite. In
round two, St. John was cautiously looking for some sort of hole in
Holm's offense, landing several shots, but unable to keep any sort of
defense up as Holm would drop jab after jab on her. The second and
third round had Holm landing countless solid jabs and body shots
without giving St. John any chance to retaliate. Overpowered, St. John
had yet to land a decent shot on Holm yet. In the fourth round, Holm
had St. John on the ropes several times. Already dominating the fight,
Holm was relentless and never slowed down a bit. The fifth and sixth
round continued to have Holm control the fight by unleashing a volley
of punches, forcing St. John into the corner, unable to counter or
escape. The few times St. John was able to land solid jabs, Holm would
answer with an onslaught of body shots and the occasional uppercut. In
the eighth round, neither fighters were showing any significant
fatigue, but it was clearly evident that St. John knew she was losing
and there wasn't anything she could do about it except smile. Once
again St. John is ineffective in either landing any punches or holding
Holm back. The ninth round finally showed some physical wear on St.
John. Upon several clean straight jabs by Holm, St. John appeared to be
stunned, but not out entirely all the while Holm was still floating
around the ring unscathed. The tenth round started with St. John able
to punch Holm into a corner, but that was short lived when Holm fired
back, easing the pressure St. John was putting on her. Into the ten
second warning, both fighters unleashed whatever fight they had left in
them before the bell had finally rung."
St. John slipped to 42-6-2
(17 KO's).
"I wanted to end it early, but she's been in 50
fights, and she's been hit by the best, and she is conditioned to go
all the way," Holm
told reporter Richard Stevens of the Albuquerque Tribune.
"She can throw five punches before you can even blink," St. John said of
Holm after the bout
The Albuquerque Sports Hall of
Fame named Holly as its 2005 Female Athlete of the Year.
On February 24, 2006 at the
Isleta Casino, Holly (139 lbs) TKO'd Shadina
Pennybaker (5'5",138½ lbs) of Pittsburgh in the seventh
round defending her IBA Junior Welterweight title. According to Chris
Cozzone of New Mexico Boxing: "Holm
won the first several rounds at a distance jabbing, but the fight
started to heat up in the fourth with a questionable knockdown of
Pennybaker. The challenger took the fight to Holm in the fifth, but
Holm willingly traded and started to make the fight one-sided from the
sixth on. After two cuts near Pennybaker’s eyes, opened by headbutts in
the second and seventh, started to pour blood in the seventh, the fight
was stopped at 0:57 and the TKO win awarded to Holm, who had a
near-shutout tally on the scorecards."
Pennybaker slipped to 9-5-1 (2 KOs).
Trainer Mike Winklejohn said
of the Pennybaker fight: "Holly
followed the game plan, we wanted to make the girl miss and eventually
catch her and knock her out."
On June 10, 2006 at the Isleta
Casino, Holly (145¼ lbs) had her hands full in her third fight with
tough Angel Martinez
(147¼ lbs) of Dallas, Texas who had substituted on
about a day's notice for Lisa Holewyne in a ren-round bout for the WBA
Welterweight title. Holly started well but she had to survive a
late-round charge from the aggressive Martinez in order to come away
with a hard-earned unanimous (98-92) decision for the title.
“I knew she’d be
tough,” admitted Holm,
"she was getting that counter-right in but
there was nothing that made me go ‘whew!’ or see stars. I was tired at
the end, I don’t know why, and should’ve
finished stronger—I knew she’d finish strong.” Holm
added that Martinez was much tougher than Christy Martin,
who “was easier to counter."
Martinez fell to 4-2-1 (1 KO).
On September 23, 2006 at the Isleta Casino in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, a near-capacity crowd of 2500 saw
Holly (140 lbs)
won a 10-round unanimous (100-90) decision over Jane Couch
(139 lbs) of Bristol, England defending her IBA Junior Welterweight
title.
According to Chris Cozzone's report, "The opening round was a
tactical one,
with both fighters feeling each other out until the final minute when
Holm
started to land a snappy left hand on Couch. The lefts continued to
score in the
second and third; her big power punches gave the impression that Holm
was too
big, too strong for Couch, who sought to counterpunch, sometimes
successfully,
but not often enough. In the fourth, the two mixed it up. While Holm
continued
to put rounds in the bank, Couch started to land a sneaky counter right
hand.
Success was short-lived for, Holm, willing to stand in front of her
opponent,
and trade, continued to land the bigger, hard shots—and not just the
straight
left; Holm started to throw in uppercuts and hard right hooks that
found their
mark. Holm’s reign over the rebellious Couch took on a
dominating edge in
the sixth, but in the seventh, Couch had her best round yet—might’ve
even won a
round, if it weren’t for late flurries by Holm. Couch landed
nicely-timed rights
for the first minute, but Holm, barely batting an eye at the assault,
stood her
ground and bombed back with heavier shots. Couch, too, took her
punishment well,
despite withstanding shots that snapped her head back on more than one
occasion.
At the end of the eighth, Couch retaliated with her best shots
yet—straight
rights—but Holm, again, on solid ground, showed little, or no, damage.
Holm
continued to not only outbox, but outslug Couch in the ninth, making it
look
easy, and in the final round, stepped up the pace yet again with the
fight’s
best action, closing the show by taking the fight to Couch, hammering
her with
big lefts while Couch sought to finish up with right hands of her own.
Couch
finished the fight bleeding from a deep cut over her left eye—the
result of an
accidental clash of heads." Couch fell to 28-9-0
(9 KO's).
On December 1, 2006 at Isleta Casino Holly (151 lbs)
became a three time World Champion as she captured the IFBA Junior
Middleweight
title with a ten-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-91)
decision over
Tricia Turton (147¾
lbs) of Seattle, Washington. Holm was the quicker of the two and was
able to
dominate the game Turton, who was just too small,
according
to reporter Andy Rivera, who wrote: "Holm
came out strong in round one
landing lead left hands to the head of Turton, but to Turton’s credit
she shook
it off and landed a few left hands herself as both fighters being
left-handed
would use their left as their primary weapon. In the final: 30 of the
round Holm
turned it on and landed quick combinations to the head of Turton.
Holm’s speed
definitely paid off in the opening stanza. Much of the same in the
second and
third rounds as Holm’s speed was the difference. Turton would try to
cut off the
ring on Holm but Holm was able to move and land quick flurries.
Turton’s nose
started to bleed. Turton was unable land more then one punch at a time.
Round
four had Turton still coming forward with Holm picking her apart with
quick
flurries. Turton showed a lot of frustration as she was unable to land
on Holm
flush, but to Turton's credit she kept coming forward and held nothing
back.
Turton kept the pressure on Holm in rounds five and six, but once again
Holm
countered well landing hard right hooks to the head of Turton, who had
trouble
getting inside Holm’s long arms and when she was able to get close
didn’t have
the power to do damage. Holm dominated rounds seven thru nine with
constant
right hands to the head of Turton with Turton being game but unable to
land
anything significant. Turton looked more and more flustered ... unable
to trap
Holm; in fact Holm now had Turton going to the ropes more. Turton
couldn’t get
inside Holm’s long arms missing most of her shots while Holm continued
to land.
Holm looked to put more power shots in the tenth and final round as she
trapped
Turton early in the round landing hard left hands to the head of Turton
but
Turton would take it like a true Gladiator." Holm improved
to
16-1-2 (5 KOs) with the win while Turton fell to 8-2-0 (3 KOs).
On March 22, 2007 at the Isleta
Casino, Holly (143¼
lbs) won a hard-fought ten-round unanimous (98-91,97-92,97-92) decision
over
reigning WBC Lightweight champion Ann-Marie
Saccurato
(141 lbs) of White Plains, New York for six (IFBA, WIBA, GBU, WBC, IBA,
WBA)
welterweight world title belts. The scoring does not do
justice to a
strong effort by Saccurato, who pressured the highly mobile Holm
aggressively throughout the
entire fight and often corralled her against the ropes.
Saccurato
was deducted a point in the seventh for holding Holm behind the head
while
hitting. Saccurato was the aggressor throughout and often controlled
the tempo
of the fight while Holm landed fast and effective scoring shots when
she
stood her ground. Every round was closely contested, and the
lop-sided score did not reflect the overall action. The card was
televised
live on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period”, marking the
return of
women's boxing to live network coverage in the USA. Saccurato slipped
to 12-2-2 (5 KOs)
with the loss.
On May 24, 2007 at Tingley
Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and televised live
on ESPN2, Holly (139 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous
(100-90,100-90,98-92) decision
over Chevelle Hallback
(137½ lbs) of Plant City,
Florida for the IFBA Junior Welterweight
world title. Hallback, ranked #1 in the world at junior lightweight by
WBAN, was
stepping up in weight to face Holm and also coming off an almost
18-month
absence from competition. She appeared tentative for much of the bout
and rarely
closed the distance to Holm for long enough to shake Holm's confidence.
Hallback fell to 25-5-1 (11 KOs) with the loss while Holm improved her record to
18-1-2 (5 KOs).
On September 21, 2007 at the Santa Ana Star Casino
in Bernalillo, New Mexico, Holly (142 lbs) won the IFBA Welterweight
title with a 10-round unanimous (99-91,99-91,96-94) decision over
Angel Martinez (142 lbs) of Dallas, Texas. Holm outboxed
Martinez for the most of the first eight rounds but Martinez stunned
her with several hard rights in the eighth and the late rounds became
nail-biters as the two traded punishing shots. "I don't take
anything from Angel," Holm said after the bout.
"She's tough. Her right hands are no joke."
Martinez also praised Holm: "She's an awesome fighter, the
best in the world at welter. What can I say? I don't have excuses. It
just wasn't my night."
Holm improved her record to
19-1-2 (5 KOs) while Martinez dropped to 6-4-1 (1 KOs).
Holm was named WBAN's Fighter
of the Year for 2007 in December 2007.
On January 11, 2008 at Isleta
Casino, Holly (145½ lbs) defended her with a TKO of Mariem Brakache
(145¾ lbs) of Atlanta, Georgia at 1:40 in the seventh round.
As
reported by Andy Rivera, "There wasn't much
suspense on who would win, as Holm looked determined and ready to do
whatever it took to beat the brash talking Brakache, who most of the
week prior to the fight tried to get under Holm's skin, but Holm would
tell everyone the fight was Friday night, not before. Brakache had no
answer for Holm at any juncture of the fight. The only thing Brakache
had to offer was hitting behind the head when she got close to Holm.
Holm used lateral movement and stood her ground and punched, which no
doubt had Brakache confused in the first three rounds. Holm looked more
and more determined to punish her opponent as she landed hard left hand
over and over to Brakache's head; all Brakache could do is make a face
each time she got hit. In round four referee Rocky Burke warned
Brakache for the second time of the fight for hitting behind the head,
if anything Brakache knows how to use dirty tactics to try to throw her
opponents game plan, but Holm would have none of it. More of the same
in rounds five and six as Holm peppered Brackache with rights to the
head every time Brakache tried to rush Holm. At the end of the sixth a
cut on the side of Brakache's left eye opened up. The cut was a bad one
and Brakache's corner was able to stop the blood momentarily in between
rounds; Referee Burke would let the judges know it was from a punch,
which led to drama after the fight. In the 7th, Holm who had
blood all over her white top and forehead, but from Brakache's cut,
would continue where she left off, popping Brakache more and more
frequently, Burke halted the action to have the ring doctor look at the
cut. She was allowed to continue, but Brakache looked like a beaten
fighter. As the two went back to the center of the ring Brakache looked
at Burke like she wanted to quit; Holm went in for the kill landing one
more flurry and prompting Burke to halt the fight."
Holm improved to 20-1-2 (6 KOs) with the win while the
33-year-old Brakache fell to 5-6-0 (1 KOs).
On February 7, 2008 at the
Pechanga Resort and
Casino in Temecula, California, Holm made her first appearance outside
New Mexico and Colorado - against Puerto Rican-born veteran
Belinda Laracuente,
now fighting out of New York. This was considered a low-risk
fight for Holm as Laracuente's boxing style is usually quick and
defensive like her own but Holm was taller, naturally heavier, and also
the harder puncher. Holm used her reach and quickness to stave off
Laracuente's attacks throughout a somewhat lack-luster fight compared
to a thriller of a co-main featuring Chevelle
Hallback and Laracuente's protege Melissa
Hernandez . Late in the fight Laracuente switched from her
normally elusive counterpunching style to try to make something happen.
She landed her best shot of the night in the eighth - a straight right
hand that jolted Holm’s
head back, and she connected with good body shots in the tenth, but the
rally was too late to swing the outcome.
According to WBAN correspondent Bill Ortega, "Holm
used her steady jabs and movement to keep away from Laracuente’s
combination attempts. Each round began to look like a carbon copy of
the last as Holm built up an insurmountable lead." The
final scores were all in Holm's favor: 97-93, 99-91, and 98-92. “The
judges scored it the way I felt it went,”
said Holm, who improved to 20-1-2 (6 KOs) while Laracuente
fell to
23-20-3 (9 KOs). Holm's IFBA
Welterweight title had been at stake, but little at risk.
Holly's California trip may have gained her some much-needed road
experience but it may do little to deflect criticism of her "Holm,
sweet Holm" strategy, especially as the night (and perhaps the biggest
benefit from Fox Sports Net TV exposure) belonged to the boxer who took
on the biggest matchmaking risk - Melissa
Hernandez.
On June 13, 2008 at the Isleta
Casino and Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a PPV main event,
Holly (150½ lbs) cruised to a 10-round unanimous (98-92,98-92,97-93)
decision over previously undefeated Mary
Jo Sanders (152¼ lbs) of Detroit.
Holm won the IFBA Junior Middleweight title and a
"history first"
WBAN Championship Belt for this performance, which dropped
Sanders to 25-1 (8 KO's).
Jimmy Mallo, who trains and
manages Sanders, said she was off her game plan in the fight in
Albuquerque. But although there was no rematch clause in the
first contract, according
to Mallo, one was soon arranged. “It wasn’t difficult,”
said Holm’s promoter Lenny Fresquez, who said the referee and judges
must be neutral. “That was the biggest hurdle. Once we got
past that, it was pretty easy.”
The rematch took place on
October 17, 2008 at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. This time,
Mary Jo Sanders
and Holly fought to a 10-round majority (97-93 Holm, 95-95, 95-95) draw
for the vacant IBA Junior Middleweight title.
“I felt I did enough
to win the fight,” said Holm. “The crowd roared
every time she landed a single punch. I felt I threw two to her one and
power shots as well.” Sanders was also in no doubt
she’d won the brawl, according to Brudenell, saying "I
definitely know I won the last three rounds, I really do. I did enough
to take the points in the fifth and sixth too. But I’m a lot happier
than in Albuquerque … but not happy enough because of the draw.”
Sanders progressed to 25-1-1
(8 KO's) with this result.
On January
23, 2009 back home at the Isleta Casino and Resort near Albuquerque,
New Mexico Holly Holm (145½ lbs) won a closely-contested 10-round
unanimous decision over former WIBF/WBA Jr Welterweight
champion
Myriam Lamare
(144½ lbs) of Marseille, France, for the WIBA Welterweight world
championship. Lamare fell to 17-3-0 (10 KO's) with the loss.
On June 5, 2009 at the Isleta
Casino and Resort, Holly (144½ lbs) TKO'd previously undefeated Duda Yankovich (139¼ lbs) of
Sao Paolo, Brazil at 0:32 of the fourth round for the WIBA Welterweight
title. Holm set the tone early with her jab and drew blood from
Yankovich in the second with a series of powerful shots, one of which
reportedly broke Yankovich's nose. Yankovich defended more effectively
in the third but Holm still ended that round strongly and got to
business quickly to put Yankovich away in the fourth.
Yankovich fell to 11-1 (5 KO's) with this loss.
On August 28, 2009 at New Mexico Highlands University
in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Holly Holm (145 lbs) defeated
Terri Blair (143½ lbs) of Louisville, Kentucky by
a ten-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-91) decision for the WIBA
Welterweight title. Blair fell to 11-14-2 (6
KO's).
On December 4, 2009 at the Isleta Casino and Resort near Albuquerque,
New Mexico, Holly Holm won a ten-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,99-91) decision over Victoria
Cisneros of Albuquerque, who was a literally last-minute substitute for
scheduled opponent Melissa Hernandez. Hernandez refused to fight after
a behind-the-scenes dispute broke out over the pre-fight hand-wrap
procedures. Cisneros, who has been one of Holm's sparring partners,
stepped up from the crowd attending the card in order to fight Holm,
prompting many questions (including an
investigation by the ABC) about the rules and procedures of
the Isleta Boxing Commission. Cisneros's record fell to 3-8-2
(1 KOs) but her willingness to fight
at short notice earned her admiration throughout the boxing
community, even though the propriety of the IBC's letting her do so was
questioned.
On March 26, 2010 at the Isleta
Casino and Resort near Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly Holm (139¾ lbs)
won a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,98-92) decision in a rematch with Chevelle Hallback (138½ lbs)
from Tampa, Florida for the WIBA Junior Welterweight title. Hallback slipped to 27-6-2 (11 KOs).
On August 6, 2010 at the Hard Rock Casino in
Isleta, New Mexico, Holly Holm (138½
lbs)
won by a TKO at 1:53 in the first round over Jaime Clampitt (135
lbs) from Warwick, Rhode Island, in a scheduled ten-rounder for the
vacant IBA Junior Welterweight belt. The Canadian-born Clampitt fell to 21-5-1 (7 KO's)
with the loss.
On December 5, 2010 at Route 66
Casino in Albuquerque, NM
in the main
event, Holly Holm (139½ lbs) won
by a TKO at 0:51 in the eighth round over Ann Marie Saccurato (138½
lbs).
In this scheduled ten-rounder, Holm defended her IBA Junior
Welterweight belt, and fought for the WBAN Junior Welterweight belt,
the second WBAN belt she has won. Holm was much more
aggressive in this fight than in their previous
meeting. Saccurato fell to 15-5-2 (6 KO's).
On June 10, 2011 at Route 66
Casino in Albuquerque, NM, Holly Holm (141½
lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (100-90 x 3) decision in a
ten-round non-title rematch with Victoria Cisneros (137
lbs). Cisneros fell to 5-12-2 (1 KO) as Holm advanced to 30-1-3 (9 KO's).
On
December 2, 2011 at the Route 66 Casino west of Albuquerque,
New
Mexico, Anne-Sophie Mathis
(145½ lbs) of Dombasle, France faced Holly Holm (145¾ lbs) in
a much anticipated showdown for the IBA and WBAN Welterweight
belts. Both boxers were undefeated since 2004 and were
at the top of WBAN's world rankings at their usual
weights but Holm had never before faced anyone with Mathis's
mix of reach, power and
pressure.
Holm trading with Mathis before the KO
© Copyrighted photo taken by Sue TL Fox
Holm's quick-movement fight
plan worked for the early
rounds but she got into trouble when she began to
slug it out
with Mathis as early as the third. Mathis, who never
flinched
from Holm's punches, then began to punish
Holm with
quick,
powerful shots. Holm told her corner she was hurt in the
fifth then was knocked down cleanly in the sixth
(although the referee ruled a slip). Holm looked beaten
between the sixth and seventh but she chose to fight
on, only to
be KO'd against the ropes in the second half
of the seventh. The referee initially intervened when Holm's
arm
became entangled in the ropes (keeping her
from
falling to the canvas after a powerful shot from
Mathis) but then let the fight go on although
Holm looked defenseless and out on her feet.
Mathis about to put Holm away in the seventh
© Copyrighted photo taken by Sue TL Fox
Two savage
rights to the head then ended it by KO at 1:38 in the
seventh. Holm fell to 30-2-3 (9
KO's) while Mathis improved to 26-1 (22
KO's).
On June 15, 2012 at the Route 66 Casino near
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly Holm (146 lbs) won a unanimous (96-94,97-93,99-91)
ten-round decision over Anne-Sophie
Mathis (145 lbs) of Dombasle, France for the IBA, WBF and
WBAN Welterweight titles. Unlike
in their first match, Holm stuck to her preferred strategy of
boxing warily from the outside using her own lateral movement to
deny Mathis good punching range. This time she added
a
tactic of ducking low and tying Mathis up in
clinches to slow the fight down as much as possible. Holm's
movement and tie-up tactics kept the number of hard shots landed by
either boxer low
in the early rounds. She then survived a more
aggressive (but
rarely sustained) attack
by Mathis who came on stronger in the later rounds. Unlike in
their first fight, Mathis was unable to find the right distance early
to
connect with the hard shots that had knocked Holm out of her fight plan
and produced the previous KO. Holm also kept
her cool (or wrapped Mathis up in a bear hug) when she was hit hard and
threw just enough in quick flurries to secure a narrow win on
the
scorecards (the 99-91 score for Holm was generous). Mathis
stated
after the fight that she would like a third bout to take place in
France. Mathis fell to 26-2 (22 KO's) with her
first loss in nearly 17 years while Holm advanced
to 31-2-3 (9
KO's).
On December 7, 2012 at the Route 66
Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly (138¾ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous decision over 33-year-old DIana Prazak
(5'5", 138 lbs) of Melbourne, Australia for the vacant IBA and WBF
Junior Welterweight titles. Prazak fell to 11-2 (7 KO's).
Holm's boxing career was almost over, as negotiations for a high-stakes world title fight with Norway's undefeated Cecilia Braekhus
never produced an actual contract, despite a series of well-publicized
media challenges to Holm by Braekhus. The promoters of both fighters
asserted that the other team did not want to make the fight happen,
while many in the world of women's boxing considered the possible
Braekhus-Holm matchup one of the most desirable fights in the sport's
upper weight classes. After Braekhus arranged a match with Mia
St. John in May 2013, Holm announced that she would fight only once
more as a pro boxer before committing herself fully to MMA, with her
final opponent to be Mary McGee from Gary, Indiana.
On May 11, 2013 at the Route 66
Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico, Holly (139¼ lbs) ended her
boxing career defending her junior welterweight titles with a unanimous decision over Mary McGee (137 lbs) with scores of 100-90 on all three judges' cards. McGee fell to 20-2 (11 KO’s) while Holm retired with a 33-2-3 (9 KO) record.
Holly Holm credits Mike Winkeljohn
for his skills
in developing her as a boxer and, more recently, as an entry MMA
fighter. "Practice makes perfect. It's a lot of
dedication; you just have to put your heart into it." She
commits to about three hours daily of training. "It's very
time consuming to train," Holm says, "but it's
exciting. It's worth all the training." Holly's
hobbies are snowboarding and hiking. Her father,
who was a preacher at Bosque Farms Church of Christ for 18 years,
enjoys watching Holly but her mother is said to be less happy about her
daughter's chosen sport. "It's
exciting, like an adrenaline rush," says Holm, however.
Page
last updated: Monday, May 27, 2013
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