Holly Holm – A Preacher’s Daughter Hopes to Resurrect Women’s Boxing The Glassjaw Chronicles by Thomas Gerbasi (March 25, 2008) Send this page to friend Give us your feedback The daughter of a preacher, Holly Holm didn’t exactly sit around the television with her family on Friday and Saturday nights to check out the latest exploits from the world of boxing as she grew up in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. Sure, she knew the big names that everyone knew simply by osmosis – Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson – but that was about it. By 2005 though, Holm - a boxer since the age of 17 and a pro by 20 – had gotten a crash course in the sweet science and was suddenly standing across the ring from the first female fighter she had ever seen fight, Christy Martin. Sure, Holm was 10-1-2 and had won an IBA junior welterweight title in her previous fight over Lisa Lewis (a fighter who had entered the ring with a 7-11 record), but this was Christy Martin, the only female fighter to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and a pioneer of the sport. “I knew it was huge,” said Holm of the fight against Martin, one she courageously took despite having only 13 fights to her opponent’s 51. “I wanted to challenge myself and I don’t think fighters – male or female – really challenge themselves like that. The only way to really feel good about a victory would be to beat somebody with that much respect. I think that a lot of people want to get the victory, but they kinda want to know they’ll get the victory and not really stretch it too much. What my dad and I call it is a sweet victory. When you’ve fought hard and beat a really worthy opponent, that’s a sweet victory and that’s when you feel good about it.” Martin was going to be a huge step up. Holm had her struggles early on, battling it out in a tough two fight series with Stephanie Jaramillo (winning one, drawing in the rematch), getting a second draw on her record courtesy of a fighter she had previously beaten (Angelica Martinez), getting stopped on cuts by 2-4 Rita Turrisi, and even getting knocked out in a Muay Thai kickboxing bout against Trisha Hill in 2003. So while she showed flashes of world-class talent, most believed it wasn’t consistent enough to beat a battle-tested warrior like Martin; even a Martin two fights removed from a knockout at the hands of Laila Ali and seemingly on the downside of her career. Holm, with the aid of trainer Mike Winkeljohn, stayed positive, put in the work in the gym, and came up with a rock solid gameplan. Winkeljohn told his charge that beating Martin would be easy work. “You need to have the confidence to know you can beat her because I know you can dominate her,” said Winkeljohn. She took that confidence into the ring that night at the Isleta Casino & Resort in Albuquerque, but before the bell rang, a moment of doubt creeped in. “I remember looking across the ring at her like ‘what am I thinking?’” she laughed. “But then I said, ‘Shoot, we’ve already committed to it; let’s do it.’” And it wasn’t even close. Dominating more and more as the fight progressed, Holm controlled the bout. As she sat down in her corner between rounds four and five, Winkeljohn smiled. “Piece of cake, huh?” By the end of ten rounds, there was no question who the winner was, and the scores – 100-90 twice and 98-92 reflected Holm’s dominance. “I don’t want to say the fight was easy, but the training we went through and the gameplan we put together made the fight easier,” she said. “At first, I think I was fighting the legend, Christy Martin; I was fighting the name. Halfway through the fight I realized that she was just another fighter.” That night, Holm proved that she wasn’t just another fighter, and in the ensuing two and a half years, she hasn’t just carved out a meager existence as a fledgling prizefighter – she’s become a star and a legitimate claimant to the top spot on the women’s pound for pound list. The other claimant with a strong case? Holm’s opponent on June 13th, unbeaten Mary Jo Sanders. Yes folks, for the first time ever, we will be seeing a legitimate superfight between the two best fighters in the women’s game. After the disappointment of never seeing Martin fight Lucia Rijker, or Laila Ali battling it out with Anne Wolfe, Holm and Sanders are putting it all on the line. In the process, they’ve made a statement that could actually make the mainstream crowd care about women’s boxing. “We’re taking that chance against somebody we know is gonna be a tough opponent for us,” said Holm. “I know she knows that I’m a tough opponent for her, and I know she’s a tough opponent for me; people want to see that. They don’t want to see people trying to protect themselves and their careers. They want to see them go out there and take the challenge, and I think this is why it’s sparking a lot of interest.” And if the careers of both Holm and Sanders have shown anything, it’s that taking on a challenge isn’t the exception, it’s the rule. Holm’s own ledger post-Martin has included big names like Mia St. John, Jane Couch, and Belinda Laracuente, but more importantly, she has also beaten top notch talent like Ann Marie Saccurato and Chevelle Hallback, and as she piles up the wins en route to a 21-1-2 (6 KOs) record, she’s quickly becoming the face of the female fight game in the post-Laila Ali era. She’s fine with that, but don’t expect her to toot her own horn about it. “I want people to want to see me fight for two reasons – I want them to see toughness and heart, but I also want them to see that women have skill,” said the 26-year old southpaw. “I think when people think of women’s boxing, they think of these little cat fights and they don’t think that women really have boxing skill. I know that I have not near what I need to have – I need to learn more all the time and I’ll never be perfect – but I know that myself, Mary Jo, and a lot of the girls that I fought have boxing skill. It just needs to be seen. I would hope to be part of that and I would feel comfortable with it.” Being blond and having ‘girl next door’ looks doesn’t hurt either, but despite being easy on the eyes, Holm is all-fighter, something that comes as a surprise to some, but not to the people closest around her. “Some of my friends in high school, my teachers, and even people in church, I think it does surprise them,” she said, “but my parents aren’t surprised. My dad and my mom knew that all that I did growing up was hang out with my brothers and all I wanted to do was keep up with them. And in order to hang out with them I had to keep up with them. So I was always real competitive and always tried to be real tough.” She was also an athlete, competing in soccer, swimming, gymnastics, and diving, but when she started taking a boxing aerobics class, things took off in an entirely different direction. Soon, she was in the ring – hitting and getting hit. “I can’t say that I like to get hit,” she laughs. “But I say that these girls can’t beat me up as much as my older brothers did growing up. I’ve always been physical and I’ve been tough, so I know these girls aren’t gonna break me. I think I can stay strong and be tough, and I never really worried about the getting hit part. If you have that competitiveness in you, that’s really all it takes because every time I get hit, I think ‘ooh, I just want to hit her back more.’” And in her gym, which is also home to some of the top mixed martial artists in the game today, it’s essential to have that fighting and competitive instinct intact at all times. “I know that they don’t hit me as hard as they can, but they don’t take it too easy on me either,” said Holm of her sparring sessions with UFC stars Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, and Nate Marquardt, and even her boyfriend, middleweight contender Joey Villasenor. Dealing with the heavier hands of 205-pounders like Jardine and Evans and 185-pounders like Marquardt and Villasenor will come in handy against Sanders, a well-rounded fighter who may be the strongest opponent, physically, that Holm has ever faced. “I think that she’s a powerful fighter and skilled as well,” said Holm of the 25-0 Sanders. “I think a lot of times you get girls that are real power punchers, but they may not have the footwork or the speed, and then you get some who have footwork and speed, but no power. I think she’s balanced in both areas so that’s gonna be a challenge, and it’s what we’re gonna try to work on to take her out of her game a bit. I also don’t think she’s really been challenged by someone with my style of fighting, just like I haven’t had somebody with her style of fighting. Knowing that, I have a ton of confidence in my trainer and he always puts together a game plan that works.” Regardless of the outcome though, both Holm and Sanders have stepped up where others have failed to do so, and that’s worthy of praise. But they’re not doing it for that; Holm and Sanders know that the only way the sport will move forward is if the best fighters fight. Hopefully June 13th is the start of a trend. “I think women are realizing that they’re gonna have to put a little bit on the line in order to get paid and to get recognized,” said Holm. “You have to take on a challenge because that’s what people want to see.” Now available, Thomas Gerbasi’s latest boxing compilation: Fightin’ to Writin’ – More Ring Ramblings. For more information, click here http://www.amazon.com/Fightin-Writin-More-Ring-Ramblings/dp/0595486665/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF 8&s=books&qid=1202272469&sr=8-12 Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums E-Mail Thomas Gerbasi at tgerbasi@mindspring.com or visit www.myspace.com/gerbasi