Two Champions, One Bit Of Unfinished Business
Right then — Stephanie Han and Holly Holm weigh in today in El Paso, and tomorrow night they go again. WBA women's lightweight title. Live on ESPN. Their first fight in January was bossing along nicely until a head clash split Han open in round seven and the judges had to call it on the cards — technical unanimous decision, no clean result. Both camps wanted this run back. Here it is.
Holm's Last Real Crack
Holly Holm is 44. The boxing legacy is already locked — multi-weight world champion in two sports, properly all-time. But the lightweight belt around someone else's waist still nags at her. The first fight she was competitive in patches, struggling with Han's quickness in others. She has had five months to fix what went wrong. At her age that is not nothing.
The plan has to be more aggressive starts and more body work. She cannot wait for Han to come to her like she did in January. The pressure has to come straight off the bell.
Han's Quiet Class
Stephanie Han sits 12-0 with only 3 KOs and a profile that does not match how good she is. Brilliant feet, sharp counter shots, defensively responsible. She was winning the first fight when the cut went in. She has spent five months listening to people say she did not really beat Holm. Tomorrow night she gets to settle that.
She is the champion. She is younger, she is fresher, she is faster. If she boxes her fight she should clear the cards out.
The Read
Han UD10, no more technical nonsense, proper unanimous decision. I see her on the back foot for the early rounds, picking Holm off as she comes in, opening up from round five. Holm will have her moments and one big-shot landed could change everything — she still has snap on the right hand. But across ten rounds I cannot see her sustaining the pace.
Han closes the chapter cleanly. Holm walks off to a deserved ovation. Class fight, class career.
How To Watch
ESPN, Saturday night, the four-fight main card starts 8pm ET. Han-Holm II main event late evening US time.