Holly Holm has already earned her plaque in Canastota, but the “Preacher’s Daughter” insists her boxing chapter isn’t closed. The 43-year-old former three-division champion steps back between the ropes Saturday at Anaheim’s Honda Center, meeting unbeaten Mexican lightweight Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa on the Jake Paul - Julio César Chávez Jr. DAZN PPV. It will be Holm’s first boxing bout since 2013, when she left at 33-2-3 to chase UFC glory and famously dethroned Ronda Rousey.
Holm says her Hall-of-Fame induction in 2022 reignited unfinished business. After negotiating a release from her UFC contract, she signed with Most Valuable Promotions and envisions fast-tracking to the sport’s biggest names. “Have this fight, get ranked again, then go for the big fight - Katie Taylor or Amanda Serrano,” Holm told reporters after her public workout. MVP’s all-women card headlined by Taylor-Serrano III on July 11 is firmly on her radar.
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The New Mexico southpaw admits trading MMA kicks for boxing angles has required mental rewiring, but insists she remains elite. “I’m the only woman to hold world titles in multiple combat sports,” Holm said. “I still have a lot to prove.” Her opponent, Vega Ochoa, 30, brings youth and ambition yet just a single stoppage; Holm believes experience and ring IQ will bridge the 12-year gap in activity.
Holm also credits her UFC run - battles with Rousey, Nunes and Cyborg - for elevating women’s combat sports purses and visibility. “MMA gave boxing a platform that made promoters step up for women,” she said. Now she hopes boxing returns the favor by granting her one last title chase. “People don’t understand the nerves, the stakes. Winning after all that - nothing feels more alive.”
A victory Saturday would launch Holm into lightweight rankings and, she hopes, a late-career superfight. For a fighter who’s never chosen the easy route, returning from Hall-of-Fame retirement might be her boldest move yet.
Image Credit: Most Valuable Promotions