Landing on Planet ‘Hollywood’
Women's Boxing legend Christy Martin to venture into "Hollywood” Holly Holm's hometown on September 16th

By Chris Cozzone

“I bet you didn’t think you’d get such an easy tune-up this quick after the Lucia Rijker fight fell through, huh?”

That’s what one Christy Martin fan asked the legend after yesterday’s press conference at Isleta Casino was over, as several others lined up behind him to get an autograph.

Yesterday, the word was official: Women’s boxing icon Christy Martin would be back at Isleta on September 16 to fight Holly Holm—the biggest female draw, ever, in New Mexico.

The event, promoted by Fresquez Productions, Inc. and billed as “Divas in the Desert,” will be the biggest women’s fight in the history of New Mexico Boxing.

The biggest women’s fight in the history of boxing anywhere was slated to happen on July 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The women’s superfight between Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker, dubbed “Million Dollar Lady” would have awarded $1 million to the winner—the largest purse in the short history of women’s boxing. But that fight was scratched two weeks ago when Rijker pulled out with an injury.

Martin, in the best shape of her life, was left hanging—and then she got the call from Lenny Fresquez to fight Holm here in New Mexico.

“Are you sure?” Martin kept asking Fresquez.

“I was surprised they wanted me to fight her,” Martin said at Thursday’s press conference.

Fresquez was sure—and Holm’s team thought Martin was the perfect step up Holm needed at this point in her career.

“People keep saying this is a step up,” Holm’s trainer, Mike Winkeljohn, said yesterday. “But it’s not.

“This is a leap—because Holly is going to leap right over Christy Martin by beating her.”

Martin’s reply?

“They just keep on digging an deeper and bigger hole than the one they’re already in.”

Despite the confidence of Team Holm, on paper, the hometown girl is a huge underdog—you might even call it a mismatch.

Martin, at 46-3-2, 32 KOs, has fought everybody (except Rijker) while Holm, at 10-1-2, 4 KOs, has only recently started to fight rated fighters. In fact, when Martin turned pro, in 1989, Holm was eight years old.

Experience and former opposition are huge factors, but Holm is not without advantages. She’ll be the bigger fighter—5’8” to 5’4”—she’s a southpaw with a difficult style, and she’ll be fighting in her hometown.

“What conventional fighter likes fighting southpaws?” Martin admitted yesterday. “My fight has always been in the inside. I just hope she doesn’t run—I hate runners.

“As for fighting in ‘hostile territory?’ Doesn’t matter to me. When the bell rings, it’ll be just the two of us in the ring.”

Martin also said that when the word spread about her fighting in New Mexico, people called her to say, “‘Be careful down there. Hometown decisions are a problem down there.’”

The solution? There’s a safeguard written into Martin’s contract: only one New Mexico judge will be used. There will also be a judge from Florida, Martin’s home state, and one from Las Vegas, Nev.

“I’m not worried,” says Martin. “but I am still surprised they want to fight me. Only thing I can think of is, they’re going on my fights with Ali or Mia, and I was not in the best shape. Ali was just too big for me, and I let Mia survive.

“But when the Lucia fight fell through, I was in 100% shape. The word ‘focus’ was an understatement. I’ve sparred 167 rounds for that fight.”

Since the fight fell through two weeks ago, Martin has not been in the gym—but has been running every morning. Her team wanted her to take yet another week off to prevent overtraining, but she’ll be in the gym this weekend for her date with Holm four weeks away. Martin will also be New Mexico a week before the fight to acclimatize herself to the high altitude here.

“I know she’ll bring her A+ game—but so will I. And my A+ game is not the same as her A+ game. Forget her height, I’m going to punish her inside and come out on top. She’s going to find out that she’s in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Holm knows she’s venturing into deep water—and in the toughest fight of her life.

“I know I’m definitely a big underdog,” said Holm. “It’d be like me fighting a pro debuter—but people with a lot of fights have been beaten by pro debuters before.

“If she underestimates me, that’ll be her biggest mistake.”

Holm says she will not make the same mistake:

“I know she’s been training hard and I expect her to be at her best. I understand this is the biggest fight of my career—but I’ve been waiting for a big fight like this and I’m ready.

“I’ve admired Christy Martin for so long, and now I’m fighting her. Mr. Winkeljohn keeps reminding me, ‘You’re not only fighting her, you’re going to beat her.’”

Should Holm win, she says she wants to continue fighting the best names out there; a list that includes Sumya Anani and Lucia Rijker.

“I just can’t wait for the prefight mental games to be over and for the fight to start. I’m just glad it’s going to be here. Fighting in my hometown makes such a difference to me, seeing all these people who paid to see you fight and to see you win.”

The co-main event on “Divas in the Desert” is an eight-rounder between border brawler Miguel “Conan” Torrecillas (16-5, 7 KOs) and Albuquerque’s “Hurricane” Hector Munoz (12-1, 7 KOs).

Like stablemate Bernardo Guereca, Torrecillas has made a name for himself in the Duke City by defeating locals like Shawn Gallegos and Tommy Aragon. Munoz, too, will fall, says Torrecillas:

“This fight will not go past the fifth round.”

Munoz, however, has improved greatly since his loss to Guereca last year at Sandia. He’s said for some time now that he is ready for such a step-up war.

The card also features Alex “El Diablo” Becerra (16-3, 7 KOs) of El Paso; unbeaten Cuauhtemoc “the Aztec Warrior” Vargas (13-0, 9 KOs) of Mexico City; and El Paso’s Carlos Madrid (4-0, 1 KO).

Tickets priced from $30 to $200 are now on sale at Isleta Player’s Club Box Office at 505.244.8191 or 505.244.8192 or online at Tickets.com.

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