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OK, who鈥檚 hungry?

In a rematch, it鈥檚 usually the fighter who lost the first bout that has the emotional and motivational edge the second time around.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Holly Holm, who on Saturday will again challenge El Paso鈥檚 Stephanie Han for the latter鈥檚 WBA lightweight title at the El Paso County Coliseum, says her Jan. 3 loss to Han in San Juan, Puerto Rico is all the motivation she needs.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like I fought to my potential in Puerto Rico, and also there鈥檚 just something about being able to avenge a loss and come back,鈥� Holm (33-3-3, nine knockouts) said on Tuesday in a phone interview.

鈥淚鈥檓 always dedicated and I take every fight seriously, but there鈥檚 definitely a little more motivation behind this one, you know? The only way to fix a loss is by getting a win.鈥�

Hold my Gatorade, says Han (12-0, three KOs), though not precisely in those words.

鈥淚 love to win, and I鈥檝e trained (for Saturday鈥檚 fight) so hard,鈥� Han said in a phone interview last week. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 train to lose. I train to win and I鈥檝e been giving everything to this fight just like the first fight.鈥�

Two different worlds

Holm and Han live in cities separated by just 260 miles, yet their backgrounds are worlds apart.

Han, 35, trains around a full-time job with the El Paso Police Department. She鈥檚 married and the mother of two, one a daughter with special needs. There was a 10-year gap between the end of her amateur boxing career and her pro debut while she married, started a family and joined El Paso PD.

鈥淚t鈥檚 mainly (about) the benefits, health insurance,鈥� she said of her job. 鈥淚 have no regrets. 鈥� But I just hope I win this fight, and hopefully big-money opportunities will (happen as a result).鈥�

Holm, 44, is single (once divorced). She has made her living as a professional fighter, in boxing and MMA and boxing again, for more than two decades.

She鈥檚 a boxing Hall of Famer and a former UFC champion. Her stunning upset victory over Ronda Rousey in 2015 catapulted her into a new stratosphere.

She鈥檚 made millions of dollars in the ring, the cage and from opportunities that flowed from her combat-sports success. Money is not her motivation.

Yet, there鈥檚 always self-motivation.

After Holm鈥檚 loss by brutal seventh-round knockout to France鈥檚 Anne Sophie Mathis in 2011, concerned fans urged her to retire. Furious at the suggestion, she avenged the loss with a victory over Mathis by unanimous decision six months later.

Now, as she prepares for the rematch against Han, it鈥檚 the circumstances of the loss in Puerto Rico that gnaw at her.

An unkind cut

The fight in San Juan, scheduled for 10 rounds, was stopped one minute, 44 seconds into the seventh after an unintentional clash of heads opened a cut above Han鈥檚 right eye. Han, leading on all three official scorecards, was declared the winner by technical decision.

Almost five months later, Holm doesn鈥檛 believe the cut was severe enough to have justified the stoppage.

After losing rounds three through five on all three cards, Holm won the sixth on one card and the abbreviated seventh on two cards.

鈥淲e (Holm and head trainer Mike Winkeljohn) changed our game plan before the seventh 鈥� and I do feel it was going to be what worked,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted the rest of those rounds to make it right. I mean, the stoppage was super frustrating.鈥�

Holm wasn鈥檛 immediately aware, but the judges鈥� scores at the time of the stoppage 鈥� 69-64, 68-65 and 68-65 鈥� meant Holm, barring a two-point round, would have needed to win rounds eight, nine and 10 on both 68-65 cards just to get a majority draw.

As well, it was the premature end to the fight that has prompted Saturday鈥檚 rematch. Had Holm lost over 10 rounds, Han might be defending her title against someone else.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have been ahead on the scorecards, regardless,鈥� Holm acknowledged. 鈥淭hese aren鈥檛 excuses. I just wish I would have had rest of the rounds remaining.鈥�

To Han鈥檚 credit, she didn鈥檛 hesitate to sign on to the rematch 鈥� knowing a loss on Saturday could derail those potentially life-changing paydays ahead.

鈥淚 know (Holm鈥檚) going to bring it,鈥� Han said. 鈥淚 know she wants this belt and I know she wants to avenge her loss, so I don鈥檛 take that lightly.

鈥淚 mean, I am very competitive. I don鈥檛 want to lose. I want to keep my belt and I鈥檝e been pushing it, pushing it along.鈥�

Crash or no crash

A week before the fight in Puerto Rico, Holm was involved in a car crash at home in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

鈥淚 got T-boned, going about 55 (mph) on the driver鈥檚 side,鈥� she said on Tuesday.

Her team, Winkeljohn and agent Lenny Fresquez, had urged her to pull out of the bout. She chose to fight and after the loss, wishing to make no excuses, asked her team not to discuss the accident.

Last week, the crash became public knowledge. Still, Holm said, no excuses.

During the buildup in San Juan, she said, she felt soreness from a slightly torn pec muscle. But during the fight, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel anything because the adrenaline was there.

鈥淚 took the fight, meaning I felt I was ready. 鈥� No matter what, car crash or not, cut or not, I should have done better.鈥�

Now, she said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to me.鈥�