Holly Holm, in a possible return to boxing, could take on Chantelle Cameron

Holly Holm, fresh off a release from her deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship, could be returning to boxing.

Manager Lenny Fresquez told BoxingScene that he has been fielding offers from various promoters for the International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. Holm, who held titles in three weight classes as a boxer before switching her focus to mixed martial arts in 2015, has not competed in boxing since her 2013 shutout victory over Mary McGee. Although Holm sought and secured her UFC release last week, Fresquez says the 43-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, isn’t closing the door on a return to MMA but rather opening her horizons to the best offers.

“The direction that she’s looking in is whatever will pay her the most money,” Fresquez told BoxingScene. “The titles don’t mean nothing to her; she’s gotten titles. She’s still saying she wants to fight the best girls in the world.”

Among the matchups being pitched Holm’s way is Chantelle Cameron, who currently holds the WBC interim junior welterweight title. A 33-year-old from Northampton, UK, Cameron, 20-1 (8 KOs), is a former undisputed junior welterweight champion best remembered for splitting a pair of fights with Katie Taylor.

Fresquez insists that even with Holm, 33-2-3 (9 KOs), having been out of boxing for a decade, she would still be the bigger draw for the fight due to her greater name recognition and social media following.

“I know that girl – she needs a fight,” Fresquez said of Cameron. “She fought Katie Taylor, but it didn’t really do nothing for her. She’s literally unknown. She doesn’t have many followers, and Holly has close to three million fans.”

Fresquez said that he has had conversations with Queensberry Promotions CEO George Warren about the matchup, and is scheduled to speak with him again this week.

“It’s a tough fight – the girl is tough,” Fresquez continued about Cameron. “Usually Holly has a size advantage, but in this particular fight she wouldn’t. The girl is very good. She beat Katie Taylor, so she must be solid.

“Even if she’s been out of boxing for 10 years, Holly is still a lot bigger name than her. So Holly is still the A-side.”

Fresquez says he should know this week whom Holm will be fighting, and in which sport.

Holm, who immortalized herself in combat sports history when she won the UFC bantamweight title in 2015 with a knockout of the previously unbeaten Ronda Rousey, has kept her options open. Speaking with The Ariel Helwani Show, Holm suggested she could return to boxing or perhaps join the Global Fight League, an MMA league with city-based teams that is set to launch this April. She admits that there could still be some goals to achieve in women’s boxing, which has blossomed in the decade since she last competed thanks in large part to its inclusion in the Summer Olympics.

“When I boxed, I fought at 140, 147 and 154,” Holm said. “I never fought at 135 in boxing. So sometimes I feel like it’s unfinished business. Do I go back? The people that have belts at that weight class are [Amanda] Serrano and [Katie] Taylor. So sometimes it’s like, is that unfinished business? Because that’s most of my fights in MMA – the majority of them were at 135, but I never fought at 135 in boxing, so who knows?”

Holm last fought in April 2024, losing by submission in the second round to Kayla Harrison at UFC 300.

Fresquez told BoxingScene that Holm has been hard at work for the past three months at Jackson Wink MMA, the same gym she has trained at for 25 years, reacclimating to boxing under trainer Mike Winkeljohn.

Fresquez adds that he has also spoken with Nakisa Bidarian, who partnered with Jake Paul to co-found Most Valuable Promotions, which represents Serrano and WBO super middleweight titleholder Shadasia Green. He also said he has spoken with representatives of KSI, the English influencer who serves as CEO for Misfits Boxing.

“It just depends,” Fresquez said. “We’ll see what offers Nikisa comes up with. Nikisa had some interesting things to say. We’ll see what the Jake Paul and KSI teams and the other teams have to offer.”

Fresquez remarks that the climate around women’s boxing does look very different from the days when he would have to organize his own independent pay-per-view broadcasts for fights out of the Route 66 Casino to keep Holm’s career moving. Long before she became a household name in sports with her success in the UFC, Holm had carried women’s boxing stateside, defeating the likes of Christy Martin, Mia St. John and Chevelle Hallback, among many others.

Fresquez said Holm decided to leave boxing after a proposed bout in 2013 with Cecilia Braekhus fell through when Braekhus decided to pursue a fight with St. John instead. Now, in the twilight of Holm’s fighting career, Fresquez says she wants to make her last few fights count.

“Holly can do anything,” he said. “She went and got the UFC title in three fights. Nobody gave her a chance and nobody was able to accomplish that. She accomplishes the un-accomplishable.

“We know that we’re winding down, but this girl does not get out of the gym. She trains with 24- and 25-year-old guys every day. The way she looks at it is, when these young bucks can kick her butt, then she knows that it’s time to retire. When someone tells me she should retire, I tell them, ‘Why don’t you spend five minutes in the Octagon with her?’”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.