Ad
Cut suffered by Han expected to delay showdown with Holm
Holly Holm, right, and Yolanda Vega engage in the traditional stare-down before their June 18 boxing match in Anaheim, Calif. Holm defeated Vega by unanimous decision.
Published
Modified
A cut suffered by Stephanie Han during her victory over Paulina Angel on Saturday will push back the El Paso boxer’s much-anticipated fight against Holly Holm past a projected date of Nov. 1, the Albuquerque fighter’s longtime agent said.
Lenny Fresquez also said in a phone interview that, while he still expects the Holm-Han fight to happen, it might not be staged in Albuquerque or El Paso as previously thought.
Han, after being knocked down in the first round of her fight with Angel in Orlando, Florida, proceeded to defeat the Colombian boxer by lopsided unanimous decision. Han thus retained her WBA lightweight title.
During the fight, Han (11-0, three knockouts) sustained a cut near the corner of her left eye, the apparent result of a clash of heads — deemed serious enough by Most Valuable Promotions, Fresquez said, to scrap plans for a Nov. 1 showdown. Holm and Han are both signed with MVP.
Fresquez said MVP still plans to focus on a Holm vs. Han fight rather than put Holm in the ring with another opponent. It’s just a matter, he said, of when and where.
The bout still might happen, he said, in 2025.
“They’re contracted to have Holly fight by the end of the year,” he said.
The Pit and El Paso’s Don Haskins Center had been speculated to be possible sites for a Nov. 1 MVP card, with Han defending her title against Holm. But scheduling a boxing card at either of those venues, while not impossible, would become much more complicated after the college basketball season begins.
Holm (34-2-3, nine KOs), who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022, returned to the ring on June 28 after a 12-year hiatus while pursuing an MMA career. In her return, she defeated Mexico’s Yolanda Vega by unanimous decision on an MVP card in Anaheim, California.
SIGALA VIGIL: A candlelight vigil honoring the memory of legendary Albuquerque martial artist Tony Sigala is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at Sigala’s Mixed Martial Arts, 841 Coors NW.
Ad
Sigala, a nationally ranked full-contact Karate fighter who went on to develop some of New Mexico’s finest combat-sports athletes during a career that spanned more than 50 years, died on Aug. 23 at age 78.
