Holly Holm Eyes Katie Taylor Boxing Fight After Title Showdown – Dream Match In Ireland

Holly Holm is thinking about the future, and there is one name at the top of her list. Before the Hall of Famer steps into the ring to take on undefeated WBA lightweight champion Stephanie Han on January 3 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Holm is already plotting a dream match that has been brewing for more than a decade.

Holly Holm wants Katie Taylor

In one interview with MMA Fighting ahead of her comeback fight, Holm made no secret about what comes next. “My goal is to win this fight. This is the only thing I was promised. This is the only opportunity I was promised because that is the next fight ahead of me. I have to win this to have the next door open,” Holm said. “But I would like to have this fight. My goal is to win this fight, and then my dream is to have such a big fight in Ireland.”

That big fight is Katie Taylor. The Irish superstar has been busy collecting accolades since turning pro in 2016, becoming an Olympic gold medalist and the undisputed women’s lightweight champion at 135 pounds. She headlined Madison Square Garden, making history for the sport and defeating Amanda Serrano for the second time last summer. Holm sees Taylor as the ultimate test and the platform she is looking for.

Interestingly enough, this matchup isn’t new territory. Conversations about Holm vs. Taylor almost came about in 2013, when the Irish boxer made the transition from the Olympics to the professional ranks while Holm was still boxing. “There was a little talk – but not really – about when she would leave the Olympics for the first time and maybe turn pro,” Holm explained.

“I was still boxing at the time, and there was talk even then. Maybe that’s the fight that was always supposed to happen, but it’s better to happen now than before, when it’s such a bigger stage and there are more eyes watching, and she’s made a name for herself and all her accolades and what she’s done with her career, as well as mine.”

Holm brings genuine respect for what Taylor has accomplished. “Absolutely not crazy. I think that’s… you know, she’s been able to do a lot in her career: go to the Olympics and then have the kind of career she’s had in professional boxing, fighting, headlining at Madison Square Garden, things like that that women have never been able to do before. She’s done a lot, just like I’ve done a lot with my career and made a name for myself.”

There is also a personal element to it. Holm has her own Irish heritage, which adds another layer to her fascination with battle. “You know, I have Irish heritage myself, and to be able to go there and fight the biggest name… it would be amazing,” she said. A fight between two of combat sports’ most decorated fighters, fought on Irish soil under the global spotlight, represents exactly the kind of legendary duel that appeals to Holm at this stage of her career.

But first Holm has urgent business to attend to. Han, the 35-year-old El Paso police officer and mother, enters undefeated at 11-0 with three knockouts. She captured the WBA title in February with a devastating first-round knockout of Hannah Terlep, then proved her mettle in August by rallying from an opening-round knockdown to defeat Colombia’s Paulina Ángel by decision. This is exactly the kind of championship-level test Holm wanted on her return after a 12-year absence from boxing.

“We’ve both been working hard and making a name for ourselves, and it would be great to meet and compete against each other,” Holm concluded of Taylor. But first she wants to become world champion in four divisions. Win or lose on Saturday night, the conversation about that Irish dream will only intensify