El Paso Fight Results: Han, Serrano and Juarez Score Victories
El Paso saw all the world champions win on Saturday.
Han vs Holm
In the main card, Stephanie Han survived an early cut caused by a Holly Holm head butt to defeat a vastly improved challenger and win by majority decision after 10 three-minute rounds.
It was a close one.
“I knew she was prepared for this fight,” said Han.
Han (13-0, 3 KOs) had suffered a bad cut that ended their first January confrontation and again the southpaw Holm’s (34-4-3, 9 KOs) head opened a cut on the champion on the side of the right eye that left the sold out crowd gasping early at the sight of blood at County Coliseum.
Holm, 44, looked friskier and fresher than her first fight with Han and scored a lot with her strange leaping punches and running left hands. But they never had much power and that allowed Han to continually counter immediately.
El Paso’s Han had more power on her shots but seemed more reluctant to open up offensively. Those pauses allowed Holm to gain more confidence as the fight went on.
Holm continually scored with running lefts that she utilized over and over again. She would run to the left of Han while firing a left lead and keep moving in a direction that did not allow Han to counter. It was an effective move.
But the first three rounds immediately went to Han and that was hard to overcome by even an improved Holm, the former MMA star and boxing hall of fame fighter. Maybe it was her age that kept her from warming up quicker.
Still, Holm felt she won the fight.
“I really feel I won the fight. No disrespect for Han,” said Holm. “I just felt that fight was mine.”
Han too was confident she had gained the decision.
“I know it was a close fight, but I know it was enough to win,” said Han. “My coach said it’s close, we need this round.”
Serrano vs Hanson
In the co-main event, future hall of fame queen Amanda Serrano was anxious and ready to perform.
A meaner and more focused Amanda Serrano demonstrated to Cheyenne Hanson that disrespecting her was a bad idea as she stopped the German challenger in less than three rounds to retain the WBO featherweight world title by technical knockout.
“I want to thank Cheyenne for taking the fight. She came to win, she came to fight,” said Serrano.
During the Friday weigh-in Hanson openly attempted to intimidate or embarrass Serrano and that was a bad idea.
Already Serrano was attempting to tie the female record for most knockouts with the great Christy Martin, but when Hanson openly mocked Serrano that added more salt to the title fight and Puerto Rico’s greatest female fighter was stoked to blue hot anger in their contest set for 10 three-minute rounds.
“The three minutes give us more time for having fun on here,” said Serrano. “First round I was trying to figure her out.”
Serrano needed one round to measure the distance and speed of Hanson and in the second round she went to work.
The Brooklyn-based Serrano stalked Hanson and opened up with combinations to the body and head. Then she closed the distance even more and trapped Hanson in a corner and unloaded more than a dozen blows. Many punches connected and Hanson seemed tied up and unable to shoot back freely. Referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight at 2:25 of the second round.
Serrano retains the WBO featherweight title.
“I’m super honored. I’m so for empowering women,” Serrano said. “We’re showing fight after fight that we can sell out. I do what I do for you guys.”
Co-promoter Jake Paul congratulated Serrano and her accomplishment.
“We’re so proud of her at MVP,” said Paul. “I love her to death.”
Juarez vs Valle
Mexico’s Lourdes “Lulu” Juarez (40-4, 5 KOs) scored a knockdown of Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle (34-4, 10 KOs) in the final round to seal the fight and win the WBC light flyweight world title match by split-decision.
In a battle between two very speedy fighters, Juarez used her mastery of distance and timing to upset Valle’s timing in the first three rounds. Valle then began to change tactics and the match became a closer contest.
Juarez continually switched between southpaw and orthodox giving Valle pause, but in the last four rounds the Costa Rican fighter began to connect more often. Juarez displayed excellent defense, but adjustments by Valle allowed for more hotly contested rounds.
In the final round, Juarez connected with a three-punch combination and Valle’s back right leg slipped while getting hit and down she went for a knockdown. It proved beneficial on one judge’s card.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Valle the winner 96-94, but two other judges favored Juarez 96-94, 98-91. Juarez retains the WBC light flyweight world title.
Robinson Wins
Australia’s Desley Robinson (12-3) was just too busy and agile for Canada’s Mary Spencer (10-4) who never could match the champion’s punch output.
Though neither fighter scored a knockdown, Robinson came close several times over the 10 rounds, but Spencer remained upright. Jabs and quick combinations allowed the Australian to stay ahead of Spencer’s attacks. At the end of the 10th round both fighters unloaded to the roar of the crowd.
After 10 rounds two judges saw Robinson the winner 100-90 and another 99-91 and she retains the WBO and IBF middleweight titles.
Other bouts
A light flyweight battle saw former world champion Yesica Nery Plata (31-3, 3 KOs) display her accuracy to defeat the hard-charging Brook Sibrian (9-3, 4 KOs) by decision after eight tumultuous rounds. Sibrian, who reminds me of another great flyweight Sindy Amador, came in winging and had Plata on her heels. But the former champ who lost the title to Lourdes Juarez, rallied behind a steady jab and opened up around the third round with a withering attack. Though Sibrian never backed down, the accuracy of Nery Plata’s blows proved to be the difference after eight rounds.
In a match between super featherweights with the same record, El Paso’s Miranda Reyes (9-3-1) got the nod by unanimous decision over Camilla Panatta (8-4-1) after eight rounds of feints and counter-punches. The fight seemed closer than the scores, but all three judges saw Reyes the winner 77-74 twice and 79-72.
Alexander Gueche (11-0) defeated Joshua Montoya (7-5-2) by decision after eight rounds in a super bantam fight. Gueche, from Long Beach, Calif., repeatedly held during the match but was not penalized. However, it did show a flaw in his inside fight game.
Puerto Rico’s Elise Soto (11-0) remained undefeated with a tough win over Thalia Limon (4-2) after four rounds in a featherweight fight.
Nazarena Romero (15-1-2) defeated last-minute replacement Maria Salinas (27-15-8) after eight rounds in a super bantamweight contest. Romero was the busier fighter and proved hard to reach for Salinas, who never stopped trying. Romero won by unanimous decision.
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