|
BIOGRAPHY
OF HOLLY HOLM
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.
On August 17, 2002 at Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernallilo,
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.
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, Wisonsin she TKO'd Alisa
Cantwell at 1:30 in the first round of a kickboxing bout.
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 outboxed 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).
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).
On December 12, 2003 at Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque,
Holly (144 lbs) of won a six-round unanimous (59-54,59-55,59-55) decision over
Angel Martinez (142 lbs) of Dallas, Texas. Holm improved to 6-0-1 (2 KO) while
Martinez fell to 2-1-0 (1 KO).
After the fight, Martinez said she thought it was close,
then added the kind of remark about Holly 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.”
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, so the TKO was automatically awarded to Turrisi instead of the bout
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).
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 (138.25 lbs) of Louisville,
Kentucky. Fighting her first ten-rounder, Holm made Blair chase her round the
ring and then outboxed 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 matchup 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.
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.
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
unaimous (100-92,98-92,100-92) decision over 37-year-old Christy Martin (5'4",
141½ lbs) of Orlando, Florida in the Main Event.
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.
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." Holm improved her record to 13-1-2 (5
KOs) with the win while 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."
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 hometown 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."
(For more coverage of the weigh-in, and fight photos by
Mary Ann Owen and Butch Gottlieb, see MPEG/Photo Galleries #285, #286 and #288
on the WBAN Member Site). Martin fell to 46-4-2 (32 KO) with this loss while
Holm improved to 11-1-2 (4 KO).
Holly was named WBAN's Fighter of the Month for October
2005.
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.
According to a ringside report from Chris
Cozzone, "Holm ... went to work at the sound of the bell, keeping Martinez at
the end of her jab and popping her with solid straight lefts while using her
footwork. Martinez, admittedly unprepared for ten rounds with the short notice,
paced herself, but timed big counter right hands that found their mark. Holm
utilized rare right hooks in the second, and the bout heated up as Martinez had
marginally better success with her counter rights. Still, Holm retained control
of the ring—for at least seven of ten rounds, it would turn out—and her irksome
jab and lashing left was enough to raise a mouse under Martinez’s left eye. At
the end of the round, the two went toe-to-toe in the neutral corner, four
seconds past the bell. Holm continued to put rounds in the bank in the third and
fourth rounds, jabbing and landing lefts while Martinez had to settle for the
occasional right. The Dallas fighter had better success in the fourth when she
backed Holly into the ropes but by the end of the round, Martinez, sporting two
mice now, one under each eye, was going to have to do something dramatic to turn
the fight around. Martinez turned up the pressure in the fifth and had her best
round so far in the sixth—but neither round could be taken from Holm, whose big
lefts scored repeatedly and whose footwork made her too elusive for the shorter
Martinez, who had only an occasional but fleeting flurry to the body and those
big right hand counters. Martinez tired in the seventh, but in the final
moments, she landed a big right that stumbled Holm, who might’ve been
off-balance. But in the eighth and ninth rounds, it was a different fight. Holm
yielded to Martinez’s consistent pressure and took some big shots from Martinez,
who finally appeared to be getting to the home-towner. Several times, Holm stood
her ground and the two brawled, but it was Martinez who was giving better than
getting. Holm went back to boxing in the last round but the steady
pressure—almost desperate now—from Martinez made it a toss-up round."
“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)
"What's helped me to improve is training," says Holm,
crediting Mike Winkeljohn for his tutoring skills. "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 less happy about
her daughter's chosen sport.
Winkeljohn says that Holm could go to the top in
both boxing and kickboxing. "It's just a matter of getting her seen and getting her known. She'll make more money than my guys (who box)."
"It's exciting, like an adrenaline rush," says Holm.
Holm returns to the Isleta Casino and Resort on January 11, 2008, to defend her
WBC and IFBA World Titles against
Mariem "Punchenella" Brakache. Holm was named the 2005
and 2006 Ring Magazine female fighter of the year,
2006 IFBA fighter of the year, 2007 WBAN fighter of
the year. Holm made history in 2007 by winning 6different Major World Titles at
Welterweight and has been called by several experts as pound for pound the best
female boxer alive.
©Copyrighted Biography by
Dee Williams of WBAN
©Copyrighted MPEGS by Butch Gottlieb.
[Home] [Biography]
[Record] [Photo
Gallery] [Schedule] [Video]
[News Media] [Contact]
[Merchandise] [Links]
[Fresquez
Productions, Inc]
|
|
|
