Part 4: Interview with Holly ValanceTom: so this week in ACB news there was a big title fight announcement made. ACB lightweight champion Holly Valance will take on Yvonne Strahovski next month. We are proud to say we are talking via video link to Holly. Thank you for joining us.
(Holly is sitting on a white sofa wearing a white blouse, blue denim jeans and white trainers with the green strapped ACB lightweight title belt sitting on her lap as she smiles.)Holly: hi Tom. I am glad to be here to talk to you.
Tom: well first we wanna give fans and yourself a little trip down memory lane. Here is a picture you may well remember.
Holly: oh my god! Wow is it amazing seeing my younger self. That was pretty early in my career. Back when I was starting to get world wide recognition and when is celebrity boxers use to have photoshoots for the fans and to show our opponents what they'd be facing in future.
Of course I went from being cute to being absolutely gorgeous. From a good boxer to being one of the damn best in the world as you see now.
Tom: I certainly couldn't have said that any better. Of course looking back on your career, you started back in 2007 with your first official bout being against Erica Durance, where you lost to her by unanimous decision.
Holly: thanks for bringing that up haha. Me and Erica are cool enough but she knows that she was lucky that night. Erica was one of the leading lights coming through in the ring, the fact they pitted me against her showed how much they thought of me. I can still remember that bout being such an amazing night. The butterflies in my stomach were raging till I took my first good solid hit, after that it was like a switch went off and I became a proper boxer for the first time.
Tom: we should also note that of course beyond the ACB and FCBA. You have fought here in the BBU. Defeating Rihanna by knockout in the sixth round.
Holly: Rihanna is a solid hitter. Ironically it was the reverse of me and Erica. I was the established name and she was the one with the huge potential. She pushed me through those rounds so I am glad I had the experience to call upon that every mistake she made I was on her like a flash.
Tom: of course we have to fast forwards through this career journey. You became the head trainer of the Metermaids stable in 2014 after a let's say not so friendly leaving from the Downunder stable. Did you feel your career as a prize fighter was over at that point?
Holly: well I was only thirty one. So the answer is no. Simply I was given a chance that my old stable would never give me to be more then just a fighter. I absolutely love mixing my own training with training my fellow stablemates. The sparring can be especially fun if I have annoyed someone by them feeling I have pushed them a little hard that week. We let our emotions out and then we are cool.
Fact is I still got ring time and I was happy with myself. Training others can be very rewarding and I look forwards to when I retire now to train the next superstars in my stable.
Tom: it should be noted that while your results were patchy shall we say. You did get a big result ironically back here in the BBU when you beat Vicky Pattison in what some felt was an upset at the time...
Holly: upset! Haha oh Vicky is cute and all. She plays a tough bytch but fact is she will never be able to lace my gloves. She is simply a slugger without a brain. I would happily face her again as I know she bytches to her fans about me telling the world that I don't see her as a threat.
Tom: after that you went on to defeat Miranda Kerr for that beautiful title you now hold. Can you sum up the emotions you felt that night?
Holly: I mean it was the greatest feeling of my career. I am proud of my career before that point, I want that to be totally clear. Like I got a shot at being the best and I took it every chance I could. Beating Miranda though was extra special because of what was on the line. This belt means a lot to me and us Aussies, it also helped that my sister Olympia would win her title (ACB bantamweight title) around that time. Meaning we were the best sisters in the world.
I absolutely respect Miranda as a fighter and a person. She also is dubbed the greatest ACB fighter of all time. Well I am still working on it but she won't hold that title by time I retire.
Tom: after all that we are coming towards a rematch that means a lot to you. Yvonne Strahovski is your challenger next month on the FCBA's FNL: World's Collide card. That title will be on the line and part of the reason we looked over your career is this will be a rematch ten years in the making.
You fought Yvonne back in 2013 when she was touring her homeland and you gave her hell when you two meet in the ring. How do you feel about this fight?
Holly: this is about revenge in all honesty. I have wanted a rematch for ten years and Yvonne hid from me. It took me winning this belt to see her suddenly turn her attention back to me. It isn't that I find Yvonne a bytch really but she knew that I deserved the nod in our first fight. This time she will not rob me as we are not fighting in her home town but in neutral ground.
Yvonne has had a wonderful career but she will not tick off being an ACB champion off her career goals. I am going to beat her down and take her pride. If she wants a third bout well we'll see about it. I mean she might become the jaguar champion and I have enough room in my house to hold two titles.
Tom: one final question and it is one I asked your sister a few years ago, would you fight Olympia if the money was right or the occasion?
Holly: well I mean we are both grown ups and we do argue at times like cat and dog haha. Still it's not something I think about. Never say never as we are both competitive, still I have enjoyed helping Olympia train and mark my words, she will become a world champion again. Hell maybe this belt if I retire and she wants to move up a division.
Tom: thank you Holly! That's all we have time for folks, we hope you enjoyed these posts. Thank you to Vassago for writing the two bouts we reviewed this week. We will be back next Sunday morning for the next edition of the Real View.