IBA and WBF light welterweight champion Holly Holm (33-2-3, 9 KO’s) wrapped up her professional career Saturday night with a solid ten round decision over Mary McGee (20-2, 11 KO’s) at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, retaining both of her world titles. Holm announced weeks ago that this would be her final bout before taking up a full time career in mixed martial arts.
Holms superior boxing skills led her to win every round on all three judges’ scorecards. McGee played the aggressor often throughout the fight, but Holms accuracy and foot speed enabled her to hit and not-get-hit, getting her self out of range before her opponent could land any meaningful punches. She wrapped up the fight with a very good 10th round, keeping McGee’s back to the ropes and landing hard clean punches until the fights end. TYC Sports unofficial scoring had the bout 99-91 in favor of Holm.
Holm turned pro in 2002, and has only been defeated on two occasions. She was dealt her first loss in 2004 to Rita Turrisi. Holms corner stopped the fight when she suffered a deep cut under her eye. In her next bout six months later, Holm would win the IBA light welterweight championship: her first world title. Over the next seven years, she would win 23 bouts (6 KO’s), jumping between weight divisions, win a slew of world titles between the many sanctioning bodies on the female side of the sport.
In 2011, she suffered a brutal knockout at the hands of Anne Sophie Mathis, losing the IBA welterweight title. Six months later Holm reclaimed the championship when she met Mathis for a second time and won a comfortable 10 round unanimous decision. Victories over Diana Prazak and Mary McGee followed, ending a highly successful career and being in the eyes of many one of the best female fighters world wide.
Over the course of her 11 year career Holm fought and beat many of the top competitors that female boxing had to offer; Christy Martin, Mia St. John, Jane Couch, Chevelle Hallback, and Mary Jo Saunders among them. The one name missing from her ledger, the one fight that everyone wanted to see but would never materialize, was a match against Cecilia Braekhus, the “First Lady” of boxing, and the WBA, WBO, WBC world welterweight champion.
Braekhus called out Holm on a video posted on her Facebook page back in 2012, offering up a date and location for the bout to take place, but Holm never replied. Instead, she opted to face McGee, and Braekhus went on to defeat Mia St. John. What may have been a female super-fight wasn’t going to happen.
Holm’s retirement now renders the IBA and WBF light welterweight and welterweight titles vacant.
In Toluca, Mexico, WBC flyweight champion Ava Knight (12-1-3, 5 KO’s) met Linda Soto (5-3, 3 KO’s) for the WBC Silver flyweight title. Knight won the Silver belt in her last outing defeating Susana Vazquez over 10 rounds. Knight retained the title with a 10 round decision.
World title action in South Korea as the vacant WIBA super flyweight title was up for grabs between Yoon-Joo Shin (8-6-4, 1 KO) and Napaporn Superchamps (7-7, 1 KO). Shin, who challenged for the WBC bantamweight title in 2010, took a unanimous decision over Superchamps by scores of 100-92, 97-95, 96-95. Superchamps came in with a 3-6 record over the last year, this being her fourth consecutive loss. This was Shin’s third straight win.
The WBC Silver super bantamweight champion was in action Friday night. Marcela Acuna (38-6-1, 17 KO’s) met Edith Soledad Matthysse (10-5-1, 1 KO) in a non-title affair in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An entertaining bout, Acuna worked her way to 10 round unanimous decision. The loss marks Matthysse’s third in her last four bouts. This was Acuna’s first win of the year; her last fight was a 10 round draw with WBO and WBA super bantamweight titlist Yesica Marcos in January.
Easy work for Cindy Serrano (19-5-2, 9 KO’s) in the Dominican Republic, she stopped Grecia Nova (9-20-4, 2 KO’s) in the very first round. No title was at stake.
In another non-title bout, Jemyma Betrian (3-0, 2 KO’s) stopped Anika Kurzer (1-3-1) in the second round on the under card of the Alexander Petkovic-Timo Hoffman bout in Germany.
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