Houston's Miranda Reyes ready for fight with Stephanie Han

When Miranda Reyes steps into the ring Saturday night for the World Boxing Association Intercontinental title against Stephanie Han at the El Paso County Coliseum, she will be focused and ready.

The scheduled eight-rounder will be big for both fighters as the winner will likely be in serious contention for big titles down the road.

"I've had a long, hard training camp and I feel ready. The training camp has been what I needed. I spent several weeks in Las Vegas and got in good work," Reyes said. "If I lose this fight, it's on me."

Reyes, who lives in Houston, didn't initially look to boxing to be a pro boxer. As a teenager, she walked into a gym in Houston and looked to do it for conditioning purposes. However, she saw a poster of Houston's talented boxer Marlen Esparza and that gave her motivation to box competitively.

While Reyes worked to get better as a fighter, she didn't have any amateur fights. She turned pro at 17 and while the first three years of her pro career were slow, things have picked up.

She defeated established professionals Jaime Clampitt and Yazmin Rivas . Rivas was 40-10-1 at the time of their fight and Clampitt was 23-5-2.

In her last fight, Reyes lost to world-ranked Caroline Dubois by decision.

"In those three fights, I've learned a lot," Reyes said. "I know I can fight at a high level and I know I have to make adjustments to be successful. I am going to be aggressive in the ring, I'm going to give my best and I know a win will propel me to bigger things."

Women's boxing has grown immensely in recent years as more women have been included on televised fights or are headlining fights such as Han and Reyes. Among some of boxing's biggest names are Katie Taylor , Claressa Shields , Amanda Serrano and Alycia Baumgardner .

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"To be a part of a main event in El Paso is a special feeling and shows how far women's boxing has come," Reyes said. "I'm seeing more females become involved in the sport and it'll continue to grow."

Reyes was born in El Paso but moved to Houston early in her life. Her mother Lorena was born in Juárez and worked in El Paso.

"My mom has shared stories of working in El Paso and I'm eager to fight in the city and get to know more about the history of the city," Reyes said.

Han, who is 8-0 with two knockouts, had this to say about her fight with Reyes, who is 7-2-1 with three knockouts..

“I know that this is a major fight,” acknowledges Han.  “I know that she’s young, talented and aggressive, all-round good fighter.”

Tickets

Tickets, which are priced at $25, $50, $100, and $125, are available on Ticketmaster or at the El Paso County Coliseum. There are nine fights scheduled. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the first bout at 7 p.m.

Fight Card

• Stephanie Han (8-0, 2 KO's), El Paso vs. Miranda Reyes (7-2-1), Houston, Texas, 8 rounds lightweights, WBA Intercontinental title
• Jorge Tovar (8-0, 6 KO's), El Paso vs. Lester Medrano (16-16-3, ( 9 KOs), Juigalpa, Nicaragua, 6 or 8 rounds middleweights
• Amy Salinas, (6-4), Las Cruces, N.M. vs. Yadira Bustillos, (9-1, 0 KOs), Las Vegas, Nev., 8 rounds, flyweights
• Marcos Duran, (pro debut), El Paso vs. Siupeli Anau (2-1, 1 KO), Phoenix, AZ, 4 rounds heavyweights
• Victor Aranda (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Kevin Pantoja (1-1), Denver, Colo., 4 rounds, junior middleweights
• Dwayne Bonds (10-2-1, 1 KO), El Paso vs. Jason Phillips (2-5-2), Davenport, Iowa, 6 rounds featherweights
• Dominic Barry (4-0, 4 KO's), El Paso vs. Tommie Britton (Pro Debut), Oklahoma City, Okl., 4 rounds cruiserweights
• D'Angelo Sanchez (Pro Debut), Las Cruces, N.M. vs. Corion Hawkins (Pro Debut), Dallas, Texas, 4 rounds, super flyweights
• Julian Gonzalez (13-01, 10 KO's), Reading, Pa. vs Delvi Julio (28-15, 17 KO's), Monteria, Colo., 6 rounds, lightweights

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Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Houston's Miranda Reyes ready for fight with Stephanie Han