Han defeats Holm, retains WBA lightweight title

Maybe Father (or, OK, Mother) Time finally caught up with Holly Holm at 44 years of age. Maybe she took Stephanie Han lightly.

Or maybe — well, not maybe, but definitely — Han was simply the better fighter in a San Juan, Puerto Rico boxing ring on Saturday night. 

Han, a 35-year-old El Paso police officer and mother of two, defeated Albuquerque’s Holm by unanimous decision in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds but shortened to six and change after an accidental clash of heads opened a cut near Han’s hairline. Referee Luis Pabon, on the advice of a ring physician, called a halt.

Han (12-0, three knockouts) thus retains her WBA lightweight (135-pound) title.

After the bout, streamed internationally on DAZN, Holm said in the ring after the decision was announced that the stoppage disappointed and frustrated her. 

“Not being able to finish it is the hardest part,” Holm said. “(Han) had a lot of volume, and I was kind of waiting for those later rounds to kind of take over.”

The official scorecards, however — 69-65, 69-64, 68-65 — presented a steep climb for Holm (34-3-3, nine KOs) to have any chance at victory short of a knockout.

Neither fighter appeared to be hurt at any time, but Han’s control of the bout was reflected in the punch stats: 84 landed of 341 thrown by Han, 29 of 243 by Holm. 

The bout was staged with three-minute rounds, a departure from the customary two minutes in women’s bouts. The added minute appeared to play no role in the outcome.

Holm, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and a 14-time world champion, hadn’t lost a boxing match since Dec. 2, 2011. She left the sport a year-and-half later to concentrate on MMA, a sport in which she won a UFC bantamweight title with her historic victory over Ronda Rousey in 2015. 

Holm returned to boxing in June 2024, defeating Mexico’s Yolanda Vega by unanimous decision after signing with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, which staged Saturday’s card. 

She entered Saturday’s bout against Han the betting favorite, intending to win her 15th world title and to become the first boxing Hall of Famer to win a title after her induction.

It wasn’t to be. Holm was the slower fighter, unable or unwilling to match Han’s punch output.

“I sacrificed so much for this fight,” said Han, who has been trained throughout her career by Las Cruces’ Louie Burke. “I’m so happy, you have no idea.

“It’s not the way I wanted (a reference to the cut and the stoppage), but a win is a win.”

Before and after the bout, Han expressed her respect and admiration for Holm. 

“Holly, you’re an absolute legend,” Han said to Holm in the ring.

Holm, in contrast, seemed to have mentioned Ireland’s Katie Taylor, a prospective future opponent had Holm defeated Han, more often than she mentioned Han during the buildup to Saturday’s bout.

A Holm-Taylor fight seems unlikely now. 

As for a Holm-Han rematch, given Saturday’s premature ending, both fighters said they’d welcome it. 

Toward such a bout, however, time is not on Holm’s side.