After dipping his toes back into the fighting waters last month, local promoter Pat Holmes found the temperature to his liking, sparking him to not only plan for another large card next month, but to plan for a series of events throughout early 2026 at the Ohkay Hotel Casino.
“I didn’t know how it was going to go because it had been so long,” he said. “But we had the right fighters and the respect and the chemistry. The reception was great.”
The Holmes card, “The Return” at the casino was his first promotion in more than five years, so naturally, there was a little bit of trepidation. But those qualms soon proved to be unfounded.
“We came off a show that was very difficult to put into place because it had been so long,” Holmes said. “We had the logistics putting it in a place we had not been since it was remodeled. But it went great. We had a great team at the casino with new management that was amazing to work with. The reception there was fantastic.”
And that encouraged Holmes to go right back after it with his six-bout “Cold War 6,” coming up Jan. 31, conveniently scheduled in the down time between the NFL’s AFC-NFC championship games and the Super Bowl.
“I’m very motivated,” he said. “The first one is always difficult. But now we’re on point to work there and get this done. The last one was such a success. It was sold out and everybody loved it. The place only holds 1,000 and we stuck 1,200 people in there. I was very pleased with the turnout and the support and the sponsors. So we’ll try our best to give them another good show.”
Borrowing from a successful playbook, Holmes is bringing back wildly popular local boxer Leanna Martinez of Cordova to headline the card again.
Ideally, he said, he would have paired her against Maryguenn Vellinga in a rematch from last month after Vellinga won unanimously on points in a close bout. But Vellinga was unavailable, so instead he is bringing in MMA fighter Shania Arredondo out of Belen.
A big time bout is expected between undefeated Rolyn Nez (5-0) out of Bloomfield against Danny Gonzales of Albuquerque in what should be a hard-hitting welterweight affair.
Nez was voted prospect of the year for 2025 by boxingnewmexico.com and “he’s somebody they’re looking at to be a world champion,” Holmes said.
An intriguing match-up has Santa Domingo Pueblo’s Aaron Martinez making a return to the ring after more than a year away to face Jorge Villarruel in a flyweight bout.
Martinez (5-4) has been a long-time Holmes staple and in his last fight, he lost in a first round knockout to Nez.
Isleta Pueblo’s Manuel Eastman will go up against veteran Aiseah Achesah in a cruiserweight fight.
And Xavier Maestas out of Moriarty will make his pro debut against Albuquerque’s Jose Vialpondo in a super flyweight fight.
Finally, Holmes is still seeking an opponent for another exciting up-and-comer, flyweight Eduardo Piñon of Santa Fe.
“Boxing people are impressed with him,” Holmes said. “He’s definitely a prospect. Eduardo already has a big following and he’s starting to get to where he’s going to be headlining up north at some point. That’s the plan.”
It should all make for an interesting and entertaining night, he said.
“It’s a new breed,” Holmes said. “A new time. We’re mixing the old with the new and it’s neat to see that blend. It’s going to be a change of hats at some point.”