Temecula, CA - IFBA World Champion Holly Holm of Albuquerque, NM, added to her impressive string of wins with a unanimous decision over New York’s Belinda “Brown Sugar” Laracuente Thursday night in a 10-round bout at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Holm notched victory number 21 (21-1-2 with 6 KOs) after holding off the determined challenger, who never allowed Holm to gain much of an advantage over her.

In a night that showed how far women’s boxing has come, the fight topped a three-title IFBA card that had plenty of surprises and outstanding bouts featuring ideally matched competitors that brought the crowd to their feet. Presented by Roy Englebrecht Events in association with Hollybrook Regency Inc, the powerful card, sanctioned by the IFBA, was all it promised to be.

Declared “Fighter of the Year” by the IFBA and Ring Magazine in 2006, and by the premier women’s boxing website, WBAN in 2007, Holm showed why by keeping the Puerto Rican off guard, opening a cut over Laracuente’s left eye early on. She fought Laracuente into the ropes on several occasions, only to see her competitor fight her way back into the center of the ring. Things really heated up in the 9th and 10th rounds, with a flurry of punches exchanged, as the 147-pound Welterweight title hung in the balance.

In the end, the judges gave Holm the edge, scoring it unanimously in her favor: 97-93, 99-91, 98-92. Laracuente’s record drops to 23-18-3, 9KOs.

Said Holm, “I think I still controlled and dominated the fight, even though I think I could have been better. It was a great learning experience. I just think I should have followed up when I hit her hard with some shots. It was a different experience for me because we’re both movers, not like the fighters I’ve been up against recently. I think I adjusted well. It’s different trying to cut off the ring and trying to defend against a looping punch rather than one that comes straight at you.” 

Holm savored the victory coming only three weeks after crushing Mariem Brakache on January 11 in a 7th round TKO in Albuquerque. She said she was looking forward to sleeping in and taking a short break from training before the next contest.

The co-main event was a crowd-pleasing, 10-round battle between two evenly matched fighters for the vacant IFBA Lightweight (135 pound) title—so even that Tampa, Florida’s Chevelle “Fists of Steel” Hallback, the No. 1 Lightweight in the world, and  the 6th ranked Jr.  Lightweight Melissa “Hurrican” Hernandez of Bronx, NY ended up with a split draw—leaving the title unclaimed and opening the door for a rematch. The Puerto Rican got Hallback on the ropes early, but the Florida fighter countered with a wide array of shots to the body and head in the middle rounds. Both of them danced around the ring throwing solid punches in a match that wooed the crowd, ending with a tenth round filled with furious fighting. In the end, the judges scored it: 97-94 Hallback, 97-93 Hernandez and 95-95. Hallback is now 25-5-2, 11KOs and Hernadez is 7-1-2, 2KOs.

In the hotly contested third title bout of the night, in the 122-pound division, Lisa “Bad News” Brown of Toronto, CAN, defending IFBA Jr. Featherweight champ, held onto her belt against Jeri “Fists of Fury” Sitzes of Springfield, MO, in an unpopular decision that drew boos from the crowd. Sitzes came out aggressively in the early rounds, bruising Brown’s left eye with a flurry of punches to the face, but she appeared to have spent herself too soon, and had too little left in the 9th and final 10th round. The Trinidad-born Brown paced herself to a unanimous decision, with the judges scoring it 97-92, 98-91, 96-93. Brown is now 14-3-3, 4KOs and Sitzes’ record is 14-5-1,6 KOs.

In the undercard fights, Ana Julaton of San Francisco, training with Freddie Roach, picked up her second victory as a pro in a six-round Jr. Featherweight (122 pound) bout with San Diego's Carly Batey (now 3-3-2) , a tough but tiny ex-Marine. In the decision in her favor, Julaton gave her Filipino fans plenty to cheer about, but Batey never made it easy. Batey came out swinging, but Julaton kept the heat on till the end.  

In the second undercard fight of the night, a six-round Jr. Lightweight (130 pound) bout, Jennifer Barber of Granada Hills, California, demolished Phoenix Arizona’s Handi Hernandez, for a TKO 30 seconds into the third round. Barber controlled it from the opening bell and clearly outmatched Hernandez with furious combinations. Barber, who took one good shot to the face, called Hernandez a “one punch boxer, with only a good left hook,” and upped her undefeated record to 5-0-0 with 3 KOs. Hernandez dropped to 5-3, 3KOs.

Additional Fighter Quotes:

Carly Batey:

I always take on the tough ones. It’s boring if you just fight boxers you can beat to build up your record. What will I do next? I’m just going to go out and challenge the toughest fighter I can find.

She was holding. I thought I won…especially I was stronger to the head in the last two rounds.

Ana Julaton:

I felt like I did well considering only my second fight. I stayed relaxed and focused on my technique instead of technique of my opponent. Overall it’s just more experience.

Freddie Roach:

She had a good performance. She out hustled her opponent on the inside and when we get back to the gym I want to work on her boxing ability and her jab. She’s getting better and better all the time.

Jennifer Barber:

She was a one punch boxer. The only one she had was a left hook (points to the cut on her face).I just kept feeding her combinations.

Lisa Brown:

I thought I did OK. But I think I could have done a lot better. I guess it’s a little bit of ring rough. If I had to do it again, I’d throw more right hands and jabs and be a bit more relaxed. But I give Jeri this…she’s a tough cookie.

Jeri Sitzes:

That sucked. That score was way too large of margin. I thought I had the fight. (Being knocked down) I got caught off balance on the knock down. I just didn’t have my legs beneath me. For me, it’s just a big disappointment for me. But I got to give her credit and after all she’s the champ and if you’re going to be the champ, you got to beat them big.

Melissa Hernandez:

Tonight I was at my best. The fight went well and according to plan. The judges' decision, though, caught me off guard because I thought Chevelle was much more aggressive. It was her power against my slick game. I give her credit, she’s a great fighter and I always want to battle a great fighter.

Chevelle Hallback:

Melissa and I put on a great show tonight. It was a great, great, great fight. Sometimes it’s hard to fight someone you are friends with. I had her in the corner a couple times and I think I hurt her a couple times.