Showing posts with label Stephanie Han. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephanie Han. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Han Defeats Holm In Rematch: MVPW-03 Results From El Paso, TX



Credit: Cooper Neill/Most Valuable Promotions


Press Release: May 31, 2026 By Most Valuable Promotions-  EL PASO, TEXAS – MAY 30, 2026 – Tonight at the El Paso County Coliseum in her hometown of El Paso, TX, live on ESPN, Most Valuable Promotions’ (MVP) WBA lightweight world champion Stephanie Han (14-0, 3 KOs) successfully defended her world title and preserved her undefeated record with a razor-thin majority decision victory (95-95, 96-94 x2) over Albuquerque, NM native and the greatest two-sport athlete of all time, Holly Holm (34-4-3, 9 KOs), in the highly anticipated main event of MVPW-03. 


In a fiercely competitive rematch over ten three-minute rounds at 135 lbs, Han opened strongly, stunning Holm in the second round and building an early lead with sharp left and right hands while fighting through a cut beneath her eye. Holm adjusted well in the middle rounds, increasing her output and becoming the aggressor behind steady combination punching and movement. She outworked Han over stretches of the fight, ultimately outlanding her 107-70 in total punches while throwing 437 punches to Han’s 358. Despite Holm’s late pressure and higher output, Han’s fast start and control of key early exchanges proved enough to edge the close rounds on the scorecards, earning a majority decision victory and another successful title defense.


MVPW-03 also marked a historic milestone for women’s boxing, drawing more than 7,000 fans and surpassing every previous combat sports gate in the storied history of the El Paso County Coliseum to become the venue’s highest-grossing combat sports event of all time. The event streamed live on ESPN and the ESPN App.




In a historic moment for women’s boxing, MVP’s unified featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (49-4-1, 32 KOs) delivered another career-defining performance in the double main event, stopping mandatory challenger Cheyenne “Pepper” Hanson (17-3, 13 KOs) with a ferocious second-round TKO to retain her WBA, WBO, and Ring Magazine featherweight world titles at 126lbs. After a measured opening round contested under equal rules with three-minute rounds, Serrano found her rhythm and overwhelmed Hanson with a relentless barrage of combinations, trapping the challenger in the corner and forcing referee Robert Hoyle to halt the contest at 2:25 of round two. Serrano landed an astonishing 55% of her punches throughout the bout and, with the victory, tied Christy Martin’s all-time women’s boxing KO record with 32 career KOs while further defining her legacy as one of the greatest fighters in the sport’s history.




Also on the main card, MVP’s unified IBF and WBO middleweight world champion Desley Robinson (12-3, 4 KOs) of Logan City, Australia, successfully defended her world titles with a dominant unanimous decision victory (100-90 x2, 99-91) over former world champion Mary Spencer (10-4, 6 KOs) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Robinson established control early, hurting Spencer late in the opening round before consistently landing the cleaner, harder combinations throughout the 10-round championship bout at 160 lbs. Spencer showed her veteran toughness and attempted to disrupt Robinson’s rhythm, but Robinson’s superior pressure proved decisive, further cementing her place atop the middleweight division. Robinson’s performance earned her MVP’s Performance of the Night Bonus of $20,000.




Opening the main card, Mexico’s WBC junior flyweight world champion Lourdes Juarez (40-4, 5 KOs) successfully defended her WBC junior flyweight world title with a hard-fought split decision victory (95-94, 94-95, 98-91) over MVP’s three-division champion Yokasta Valle (34-4, 10 KOs) in a 10-round bout at 108 lbs. The bout featured closely contested opening rounds before Juarez began to separate herself with cleaner, sharper punching, including badly wobbling Valle in the second round. The action intensified in the tenth round when an accidental head clash left Valle cut near her eye, before Juarez punctuated her performance by dropping the Costa Rican star in the closing moments of the fight, proving why she remains one of the division's elite champions. 




In the preliminary card headliner, MVP’s and Mexico’s #4 WBC, #6 WBO, and #6 WBA contender Yesica Nery Plata (31-3, 3 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico delivered a composed and technical performance to earn a unanimous decision victory (78-74, 79-73 x2) over Coachella, California's Brook Sibrian (8-6, 3 KOs) in their eight-round light flyweight bout at 108 lbs. Plata controlled the action with her trademark pressure and sharp combinations, consistently outlanding Sibrian and dictating the pace across all eight rounds. Sibrian pressed forward throughout and invested in the body early, but Plata’s sharper combinations and accurate counters off the back foot carried the rounds and proved to be the difference to secure her the win.




MVP’s Miranda Reyes (9-3-1, 3 KOs) thrilled the hometown El Paso crowd with a standout performance vs. Italy’s Camilla Panatta (8-4-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round super featherweight bout at 130 lbs. Reyes took command early, dropping Panatta with a clean right hand in the second round before showcasing sharp combinations and punishing body work throughout the contest. Panatta pressed the action and displayed tremendous toughness over eight competitive rounds, but Reyes’ cleaner, more effective offense ultimately secured a unanimous decision win (79-72, 77-74 x2). 




Also on the card, MVP’s two-time U.S. national amateur champion and rising prospect Alexander “The Alley Cat” Gueche (12-0, 7 KOs) of Long Beach, California, remained undefeated with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over San Antonio’s Joshua Montoya (7-5-2) in an eight-round junior featherweight bout at 122 lbs. In a closely contested matchup, Montoya’s speed and high-volume offense kept the action competitive throughout, but Gueche’s relentless pressure and sharper power punches proved to be the difference as he secured an unanimous decision win (77-75, 78-74 x2) over Montoya, further cementing his status as one of boxing’s brightest young prospects.




Additionally, WBA #3 and WBC #5 contender Nazarena Romero (15-1-2, 8 KOs), delivered a polished and technical performance against Maria Salinas (27-15-6, 7 KOs), earning a dominant unanimous decision victory (80-72 x3) in their 8-round junior featherweight bout at 122 lbs. Opening the card, MVP’s undefeated prospect Elise Soto (11-0, 9 KOs) passed the toughest test of her young career, using relentless pressure and a punishing body attack to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision victory (39-37 x3) over Thalia Joseline Limon (4-2, 3 KOs) in their four-round featherweight bout at 126 lbs.




For more information, follow on X via @MostVPromotions or on Instagram via @MostValuablePromotions.






About MVP


Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) was founded in August 2021 by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian with a fighter-first ethos. Since its inception, MVP has produced 30 live boxing events, currently promotes nearly 60 fighters, 16 world champions, and 26 top contenders.




MVP has led boxing’s evolution in the streaming era through partnerships with the world’s leading platforms. In November 2024, MVP’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2 was the first-ever live professional sports event streamed on Netflix. Paul vs. Tyson shattered records, becoming the most-streamed sporting event of all time with 125 million live viewers worldwide. MVP went on to partner with Netflix twice in 2025 for MVP’s Taylor vs. Serrano 3 and Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day.




Today, MVP is the global home of women’s boxing. MVP’s Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano in 2022 was the first female fight to headline Madison Square Garden, while Taylor vs. Serrano 2 in 2024 saw 74 million viewers globally on Netflix and became the most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history with 47 million AMA in the US. Their 2025 trilogy on Netflix topped an all-women’s megacard that set the official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most world championship belts ever contested on a single fight card, male or female, with 17 world titles, earning nearly 6 million viewers globally. 



Material Courtesy of: Most Valuable Promotions/Photo Courtesy of: Cooper Neill/Most Valuable Promotions Used with permission.


The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.


Monday, May 26, 2025

Should Harper Remain At Lightweight?

The fight between thred-division world champion Teri Harper and undefeated former Women's IBF Jr. Welterweight world champion Natalie Zimmermann on May 23rd in Doncaster,England at Keepmoat Stadium, it signaled what could be a beginning. Not only was Harper having a homecoming in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd, but she was also making the first defense of the WBO Lightweight crown she had won in September of last year. 


What would follow would arguably be one of the champion’s best performances in her career thus far. For ten rounds, Harper used her Boxing prowess, timing, hand speed, and ability to approach Zimmermann at varying angles as well as mixing levels of her attack to the head and body to put on a Boxing lesson for a very “Game," but on this occasion overmatched opponent in Zimmermann.


Despite it becoming evident from early in the bout that Zimmermann was a few steps behind Harper, and did not have an answer to combat the hand speed or timing of the champion, Zimmermann bravely fought on, surviving instances periodically throughout the fight where she appeared to be on the verge of being stopped by Harper inside the distance. Zimmermann’s bravery deserves even more praise when one considers that she suffered a severe gash in the tenth and final round on her forehead due to an accidental clash of heads, which was a gushing wound causing blood to flow over her face. 


Although this observer having seen more than his fair share of wounds throughout the three decades I have covered Boxing and by extension combat sports expected the fight to be stopped given the severity of the gash and the obvious issue of blood flowing into Zimmermann’s eyes, incredibly and likely because of her courage throughout the fight, despite suffering significant punishment, the challenger was able to make it to the final bell. Despite losing a wide unanimous decision to Harper, who successfully defended her WBO Lightweight crown, Natalie Zimmermann, proved her mettle in suffering the first defeat of her career and can hold her head high with the courage she showed in the fight.


While there is little more to say about this fight beyond calling it a dominant performance by Teri Harper, the obvious question is, what will happen next? In previewing this bout between Harper and Natalie Zimmermann, this observer touched briefly on a commonality in Women's Boxing that sees many fighters move up or down in weight seemingly by fight and what opportunities may be available to them as the sport is still very much growing. For Teri Harper, who has won world titles from Jr. Lightweight to Jr. Middleweight, it may be debated as to where she will ultimately land. 


After this performance, a viable option could be to remain in the 135lb. Lightweight division for the foreseeable future where fighters like current WBA world champion Stephanie Han, WBC world champion Caroline Dubois, and others could prove to be lucrative options for Harper, especially if the possibility to become an undisputed world champion ends up on the table for her, which seems to happen more frequently for female fighters as far as getting that opportunity compared to their male counterparts. What is indisputable is Women's Boxing continues to take advantage of long overdue opportunities by way of consistent exposure through television and streaming and as a result, interest not only continues to increase for the entire sport, but there are now far more lucrative opportunities for women in the sport than has ever been the case. If the Lightweight division is the next to benefit from that, the sport as a whole will ultimately reap the reward.


“And That's The Boxing Truth." 


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