Holly Holm is moving into the boxing ring for a world title this Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a second that carries weight far past the standard pre-fight noise. The legendary multi-sport champion faces undefeated WBA light-weight title holder Stephanie Han on January third, 2026, on the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, aiming so as to add a fourth divisional championship to her Corridor of Fame resume.
Holly Holm Breaks Down Her Boxing Title Battle Problem In opposition to Stephanie Han
Holm, now 44, hasn’t held a boxing world title in additional than a decade. Her final championship battle within the sport got here in 2013 when she defended her tremendous light-weight titles towards Mary McGee. Since then, she conquered the UFC, famously knocking out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 to assert the bantamweight crown in 2015, a second that cemented her standing as one in every of fight sports activities’ best two-sport athletes.
However after practically 13 years away from boxing, Holm signed with Jake Paul’s Most Worthwhile Promotions and returned to the ring in June, dispatching beforehand unbeaten Yolanda Vega by unanimous choice in a pointy efficiency that instructed her boxing fundamentals hadn’t pale.
The problem Saturday is totally totally different. Han, 35, brings an undefeated 11-0 report with three knockouts, capturing the WBA light-weight title in February 2025 with a first-round knockout of Hannah Terlep. She’s by no means been examined at this degree. Her solely title protection got here in August towards Colombia’s Paulina Ángel, when Han survived a first-round knockdown to safe a unanimous choice victory. Now, she’ll face somebody with 34 skilled boxing wins spanning twenty years.
Holm’s respect for Han is genuine, but her confidence remains unshaken. In an interview with MMA Combating, Holm laid out her evaluation:
“She’s a cultured fighter, and he or she’s undefeated. She doesn’t have as many professional fights as I do, nonetheless she does have a prolonged background. She’s been combating since she was younger. She’s acquired kickboxing fights on her background, and I do know that she’s acquired grit, she’s acquired self-discipline and ambition. She’s not one which’s going to come back in and brawl; she’s going to be calculated. So I simply must be the smarter fighter and the higher fighter, and I really really feel that I’m. I’ve all of the respect for her, I simply really feel that I’m higher.”
Han’s background explains a few of Holm‘s warning. Earlier than turning professional in 2021, Han spent years in martial arts and kickboxing, growing the technical basis that’s translated to her good boxing report. She fights out of El Paso, Texas, the place she works as an eight-year veteran of the El Paso Police Division. Her sister Jennifer can also be an expert boxer, and the household’s fight sports activities roots run deep.
Holm, meanwhile, hasn’t fought at light-weight (135 kilos) in boxing earlier than, having beforehand held titles at welterweight, junior welterweight, and junior middleweight divisions. She’s chasing unfinished enterprise at a weight class the place she’s by no means worn a world title.
For Holm, it’s an opportunity to show that age doesn’t decide ring IQ and that stepping out of the highlight for over a decade doesn’t erode what made her nice. Her coach Mike Winkeljohn believes she’s boxing higher now than throughout her earlier title reigns. For Han, a win over Holm represents a legitimacy-defining second, the form of opponent whose presence on a resume elevates a complete profession and creates pathways to greater unification fights. A method or one other, Saturday night time will reply whether or not Holly Holm nonetheless has yet another championship run left.
