By
Stephanie Amerena
Photography provided by
Stephanie Han
“You shouldn’t fight. Use your words,” is what a lot of parents would say to their children after a playground brawl. However, for the Han siblings, especially Stephanie Han, who is the fourth out of the five siblings, fighting is in their DNA. Fighting and winning.
To get to the point where she is now 8-0 and up for the WBA Intercontinental Championship, Han has been fighting since she was three years old. This is because her father, who owns Han’s Oriental Martial Arts, would bring her and her siblings to his studio almost every day after school. This became a second home to all of them. After competing in karate and kickboxing, by the age of 10, she followed in her older sibling footsteps and began her own boxing career.
Han found success as an amateur boxer, winning national championships, and even making it to Team USA. Though at the age of 20, burn out caught up with Han and she decided to quit boxing.
“I wanted to see what else I was besides just a fighter,” she said.
During this time, Han attended the University of Texas at El Paso where she earned a Bachelors in Kinesiology with a Minor in Biology. In between classes and late night study sessions, she met her husband. Then in no time at all they had their son. They were a new happy family, but they soon found themselves in financial strain.
Because of these financial issues, and with her husband still finishing his education, Han started looking for a job where she could utilize her skill set. One day, she saw that the El Paso Police Department was hiring for new officers. Han says she has always been attracted to law enforcement, especially since her father raised her to be tough in any situation. She applied and was accepted to EPPD’s Academy.
Once Han arrived at the Academy, she quickly realized that she had a lot to learn, describing the experience as “eye opening.”
Han explained that despite all her years in the ring, she was sheltered as a child and didn’t know anything else outside the Northeast and her father’s studio. At the Academy, she got to see how the world truly is. While she had the upper hand in physical fitness, she still needed to learn the common sense needed to be a successful police officer.
Han graduated from the Academy and began her career as one of El Paso’s finest.
While everyday was exciting and different, where she would help the community she was born
and raised in, it was unpredictable from who she would have to encounter while on patrol, to how late she would have to come home from shift. This became even more challenging with the birth of her daughter, who needed extra care and attention. With her dedication and hard work ethic, Han was able to transfer back to the Academy as an instructor.
Not only would she have more time to focus on family, but she has also been able to keep the standards high for all future police officers.
Han found herself content with her family and her job, but then learned that her sister, Jennifer, needed help. Jennifer Han was the first world champion boxer from El Paso and held the IBF Female FeatherWeight Championship from 2015 until 2020. During the pandemic, Jennifer was offered the opportunity to fight one of the best female boxers in the world. Due to COVID, there were limited options for sparring partners and trainers. Her sister was considered the underdog since she had just given birth to her first child. Han saw the writing on the walls of how her sister was set to lose on national television so she told Jennifer, “I will go and help you because we’re in this together; we’re family.”
From there she helped Jennifer prepare for the Katie Taylor fight.
While Jennifer might not have won, she made Taylor fight tooth and nail every second for all ten rounds.
During that time, Han was surprised at the skills that stayed with her after so many years out of the ring. She was content with not boxing for the rest of her life, but training with her sister reignited the long lost spark and she had an epiphany.
“At that moment, it was either now or never. At that time of my life, I was stable with my job, my family, and with my daughter,” she says. Han decided to give boxing another chance and has been rising up the ranks for the last three and a half years.
Her next opponent will be Miranda Reyes in Ring Wars on the 27th of July at the El Paso Coliseum for the WBA Intercontinental Championship. It will be Han’s most competitive opportunity that she has had – so far.
Her opponent has already fought for a world title, so if/when Han wins, she will be that much closer to reaching her ultimate goal of being the World Champion for the Lightweight Division.
“I don’t train to lose, and I know I am capable of being a world champion,” she said.
Han starts her boxing training first thing every morning at 6 am until 7:30am. One of the perks of being assigned to the Academy is being able to get her cardio training in when she does PT with the newest recruits. After work she trains in either skills, techniques, or sparring with her brother or sister Jennifer at their family gym, or even with Louis Burke from Las Cruces PAL Boxing. Some nights, she won’t get home until after 10:30 or 11pm. Then, the following morning, she still needs to do what she needs to do to not only get ready for another day at work, but also fulfill her role as a mother and help get her kids ready for school.
“I have to be disciplined to make sure I accomplish everything that I need to do,” Han explains. “Though sometimes I wish there were an extra five hours in a day.”
A wish that is shared by many, the secret to Han’s success is from her biggest support, her husband and her whole family.
“I feel truly blessed that I have my family’s support,” said Han. “I know that I wouldn’t be able to follow my dream if I didn’t have them.”
Thanks to them she can do it all, but she emphasized that family will always take first priority.
While training is one of the hardest aspects for Han, it is also her favorite when she experiences the feeling of accomplishment of all the sacrifices put into being the best.
“All the timing you put into training and not only physical, but mental as well,” Han explained. “For me, it all comes down to that one day. The day of the fight. And when I came out victorious, all that hard work was worth it.”
Getting her training from the gym, the street, and from her own family, Han will be more than ready for her fight on the 27th.
“After becoming a mom and becoming a police officer, I feel like it’s only made me stronger,” she said.
On the day of the fight, she will have her family in the crowd, her trainers in her corner, and her chiseled and polished focus inside the ring. All unfaltering and remaining unwavering until the last ring of the bell.
