Although the first meeting between Stephanie Han and Holly Holm produced a clear winner, it did not result in a satisfying ending.
When their January bout in Commerce, California was halted in the seventh round because of a cut caused by an accidental clash of heads, Han was comfortably ahead on all three scorecards. The El Paso native had outworked Holm through most of the fight, piling up points with steady pressure and a relentless punch volume that prevented the former multi-sport champion from settling into rhythm.
Still, neither fighter appeared satisfied with the way it ended.
“Nobody wants the fight to end like that. I don’t,” Holm said afterward.
Han felt similarly despite retaining her WBA lightweight title by technical decision.
“Holly is a freak of nature,” Han said after the bout. “She has power. … I would love a rematch with Holly.”
On May 31 at the El Paso County Coliseum, they will get one.
The rematch headlines another ambitious Most Valuable Promotions card devoted entirely to women’s boxing, and it carries genuine intrigue because of where both fighters stand in their careers.
For Han, the fight represents validation.
For Holm, it may represent one final opportunity to prove that her return to boxing is more than nostalgia.
Han enters undefeated at 12-0 with three knockouts and has quietly become one of the more disciplined pressure fighters in women’s boxing. Though she does not possess overwhelming punching power, she compensates with conditioning, activity, and consistency. Against Holm in January, those traits became increasingly important as the rounds progressed.
Holm, now 34-3-3 as a boxer with nine knockouts, appeared sharp early but gradually struggled with Han’s pace. By the middle rounds, Han’s output had become the defining element of the fight. Judges scored the bout 69-65, 68-65, and 69-64 in her favor before the stoppage.
The betting markets reflect those dynamics in the rematch. At the time of this writing, Han has been installed as a solid favorite, generally between -385 and -425, while Holm enters around +250 to +300.
Oddsmakers also strongly favor the fight reaching the scorecards. The over 9.5 rounds proposition has been heavily favored, with prices ranging from -700 to -835, while Han by decision has emerged as the most commonly backed outcome.
The logic is understandable.
Han’s style is built more on accumulation than on explosive moments. She throws in combination, maintains pressure, and forces opponents into a pace many are uncomfortable sustaining over 10 rounds. Holm, meanwhile, has historically relied on movement, timing, and ring control rather than attritional exchanges.
Their first fight clearly illustrated that contrast.
What made Holm’s performance difficult to evaluate was context. Before facing Han, she had spent more than a decade away from professional boxing while building a second Hall of Fame-caliber career in mixed martial arts. During that period she became one of the UFC’s biggest stars, most famously upsetting Ronda Rousey in 2015 with a head-kick knockout that remains one of combat sports’ defining moments.
Long before that, however, Holm had already established herself as one of the finest female boxers of her era.
Nicknamed “The Preacher’s Daughter,” the Albuquerque southpaw compiled an extraordinary résumé during boxing’s transitional years, when women’s fighters often struggled for visibility, television exposure, and financial backing. Holm won world titles in three weight divisions and successfully defended world titles numerous times. In 2022, she was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, recognition that acknowledged not merely her accomplishments but also her importance to the sport’s development.
Her return to boxing in 2024 carried both curiosity and expectation. At 42, Holm defeated Yolanda Vega in her comeback before signing with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. The Han fight followed shortly thereafter.
What Holm discovered was that boxing after MMA — and boxing after 40 — can be unforgiving even for elite athletes.
“[Han] had a lot of volume and I was kind of waiting for those later rounds to kind of take over,” Holm said. “You can’t do that when things happen.”
That comment revealed both frustration and realism. Holm believed the fight might have shifted in the late rounds, but Han’s pressure prevented her from ever fully dictating terms.
Han’s rise has unfolded in a far less public manner.
A native of El Paso, she built her career regionally before gradually moving into title contention. Unlike Holm, whose fame crossed into mainstream sports culture, Han developed largely outside boxing’s spotlight. Yet she has become increasingly respected within the sport because of her professionalism and consistency.
The rematch in her hometown now offers another opportunity to elevate her profile.
“I truly hope to make El Paso proud,” Han said in the lead-up to the event.
What distinguishes Han from many unbeaten titleholders is that she does not rely on carefully managed matchmaking or inactivity. She fights with urgency, and her work rate often forces opponents into uncomfortable decisions: either engage and risk falling behind in exchanges, or retreat and surrender rounds.
Against Holm, that pressure may once again become the central issue.
Still, writing off Holm would be unwise.
Even at this stage of her career, she remains one of the sport’s most experienced tacticians. Few fighters understand distance, timing, and composure better than Holm, and rematches often favor the veteran fighter capable of making adjustments.
The question is whether she can make enough of them.
Holm likely needs to establish control earlier, use lateral movement more effectively, and prevent Han from setting a sustained pace. Han, by contrast, probably benefits from repeating much of what already worked — pressure, volume, conditioning, and steady accumulation.
The rematch may ultimately come down to whether Holm can turn the fight into a tactical contest rather than the high-output battle Han preferred in January.
Whatever the outcome, the fight serves as another reminder of how much women’s boxing has evolved.
Holm belonged to an earlier generation that fought for visibility.
Han belongs to a newer one benefiting from opportunities those pioneers helped create.
On Saturday night in El Paso, their careers intersect once again.
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