By Andy Rivera
Wednesday was the last time both Holly Holm and Shafdina Pennybaker
would speak before they do battle Friday night at Isleta Casino near
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Named "Fist of Fury", the final press
conference before the battle had both fighters give their respects to
each other, but each claimed they will be victorious.Willie Edwards, Pennybakers Manger took the microphone first, letting the crowd know that his fighter is ready. "I had to have Shadina settle down today, she is ready to go, she is in great shape, and she lost the weight the right way, by training and eating right." stated Edwards.
Pennybaker who was shocked when someone knocked on her door at her hotel Wednesday with a scale to see how much she weighed. " I have never had that done to me before, I was shocked, someone showed up and weighed me. I weighed in at 140.8 so I told Willie lets go eat." Stated Pennybaker. "I have trained so hard for this fight because it means the world to me, I work six days a week in construction, run at 3:30 am go to work then hit the gym.
On fighting Holm for the IBA welterweight title, Pennybaker never thought she would get an opportunity to fight for a title. "I told Lenny Fresquez (promoter) when I got the call to fight Holly that I could make 140 and I want to fight for the title, I was thinking I may never get a chance to fight for the world title, so I sacrificed and dropped the weight."
Pennybaker's only worry for the last two months has been the judges. "I have heard things about the judges maybe favoring Holm, so I pray that I get a fair chance that's all I ask."
Up next was Holm's trainer Mike Winkeljohn, who is as calm as there is and usually doesn't say much, being media shy. "I'm looking for a great card, looking forward to seeing Lee Montoya and David Martinez." When discussing Holm/Pennybaker, Winkeljohn expects a tough fight. "I see Peenybaker is in shape, you can tell she is from the last time she was here, that means were in for a tough fight, but we got different things in our fight plan that we didn't show in the Martin or St. John fights."
Holm, who Tuesday night was honored at the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame Banquet as the 2005 Female Athlete of the Year, is not ready to give up her crown just yet. "I've worked too hard to get m career to where it is now and I'm going to stop here, I expect a great fight from Pennybaker , but I'm ready to retain my crown and keep going."
Holm who burst on the scene big-time in 2005 with two consecutive victories over Christy Martin then Mia St. John, winning all but one round out of twenty in both fights, is wanting to fight bigger fights out there. "After my last two wins, I had lunch with Lenny and we decided that we wanted to fight tough opponents and get better, when Pennybakers name came up we took the fight and look forward to a challenge, but I don't plan on losing."
The fight is almost a complete sellout with an expected crowd of over 2800. This will be the third consecutive fight which Holm and her opponents have sold out.