Holly Holm didn’t return to boxing just to make a paycheck, but rather to chase gold in hopes of becoming a four-division champion.
Already a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Holm seeks to add a new title to her résumé when she faces WBA lightweight champion Stephanie Han in the co-main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card in Puerto Rico this Saturday. While Holm admittedly didn’t know if she’d ever go back to boxing after making a successful transition into mixed martial arts,
the 44-year-old veteran absolutely believed she could make waves in the sport again.
“I love women’s boxing because I always will respect it, always will be thankful for it and my whole journey with it,” Holm told MMA Fighting. “But when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano fought at [Madison Square Garden] and sold it out, it’s like that’s the weight class I never really got to fight in when I was in boxing before. That would be cool if I’d be able to go back and fight one of these girls. Didn’t know if I’d ever actually make it back to boxing but here we are.”
She scored a unanimous decision win this past June in her first fight back in boxing and now Holm attempts to capture a title in her second comeback appearance.
While she could have easily traveled down the influencer boxing path, chasing bigger paydays with far less risk, Holm says she’s never been built that way when it comes to her fighting career.
“I didn’t want to come back just for like ‘oh it kind of sounds fun’ or maybe this fight,” Holm explained. “It’s like let’s get ranked and fight for a title and try to fight one of the biggest names out there. It’s not that I’m new to boxing but it’s just been a while since I’ve been boxing. So to come back we wanted to be able to jump in it and just go all out.
“I don’t think, I know — one of the main things I wanted to do in my career is fight the best and currently. I wanted to fight them while they’re currently ranked, not later. Not after. I wanted to take on the best when they are the best. For the majority, 90 percent of my career has been like that. As soon as I got a belt in boxing, all of them were belts, all of them were highly ranked currently when I fought them.”
A win on Saturday could put Holm in an even better position to land one of the biggest fights in the sport.
Irish superstar Katie Taylor is likely nearing the end of her career, but her promoter Eddie Hearn has mentioned interest in potentially lining up a fight against Holm in Ireland that could go down as one of the biggest women’s boxing matches of all time.
Taylor, 39, was an undisputed lightweight champion for five years and then went onto claim the light welterweight title — including belts that Holm held during her boxing career as well.
While her only focus remains on beating Han on Saturday, Holm is enticed by the potential reward of winning and then getting a showdown against Taylor in Ireland.
“I would love that,” Holm said about fighting Taylor. “It would be amazing. The thing I’ve been saying through this camp now is I’ve got goals and dreams and my goal is to win this fight. This is the only thing I’m promised. This is the only opportunity I’m promised because that’s next fight in front of me. I need to win this in order to have the next door open. But I would love to have this fight, my goal is win this fight and my dream is to have a big fight like that over in Ireland. I have Irish heritage of my own and to be able to go over there, fight the biggest name.
“There was kind of talk but not really when she was first leaving the Olympics and maybe going to turn pro but she stayed longer to go back to the Olympics and I was boxing at the time. There was actually talk back then, it was probably never going to happen. Maybe that’s the fight that’s always meant to happen but better to happen now than before on such a bigger stage and more eyes watching. She’s made a name for herself and all of her accolades and what she’s done with her career as well as mine, to be able to meet now would be amazing.”
Holm has nothing but praise for Taylor as a fighter, not to mention her superstar status as the face of women’s boxing in Ireland and also one of the biggest names around the globe.
The chance to face somebody like Taylor would add another accolade to Holm’s growing list of accomplishments. That kind of fight is exactly why Holm was so excited to return to boxing.
“She’s been able to do a lot in her career,” Holm said about Taylor. “Going to the Olympics and then having such a career that she’s had in professional boxing. Headlining Madison Square Garden, things that women have never been able to do before, she’s done a lot.
“I have done a lot in my career and made a name for myself. We’ve both been grinding and making a name for ourselves. To be able to meet and go head to head would be amazing.”
