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Albuquerque boxer Holly Holm says she has prepared as if her next fight will be her toughest showdown yet.

Trainer Mike Winkeljohn says the end result might give the expected sold-out crowd the appearance of Holm's easiest fight yet.

Defending one of her half-dozen world title belts, Holm (18-1-2, 5 KOs) will take on top contender Angel Martinez (6-3-1, 1 KO) of Dallas, the fourth time these two have met in the ring.

The 10-round International Female Boxing Association welterweight bout headlines a six-bout card promoted by Fresquez Productions at Santa Ana Star Casino on Friday night.

It's being billed as "No Excuses," based on statements made last year by Martinez, after losing to Holm.

Not only did Martinez take the fight on short notice - 24 hours, actually - after Lisa Holewyne skipped town, literally. The 10-round match against Holm's was also Martinez's first 10-round match. She did give Holm a decent scrap.

It was Martinez's third fight with Holm. In the previous two encounters, Holm won by decision the first time and then fought to a draw in the rematch in her only fight out of New Mexico, in Ignacio, Colo.

Holm rolls her eyes when discussing the humorous TV commercials airing this week to hype the bout. She says they're a bit too confrontational for her taste. Holm does admit there's a little bit of underlying truth to the billing.

"We both have a couple of excuses," Holm laughs.

"I know she took the fight on really short notice. I know, a lot of fighters wouldn't have taken that fight, and I give her a lot of credit for that. I hope she knows that.

"But I fought that fight with a bad ankle and wasn't able to perform the way I wanted to."

Holm won a typical unanimous decision, 98-92 across the board. Martinez, seemingly pacing herself in the first half of the fight, opened up in the late rounds for a competitive closing.

"Everyone's saying, `Why fight her again?' " Holm says.

"First, everyone was saying, `Why not give Angel another chance - are you afraid to fight her again?' Then we get her, and everyone asks, `Why again?' "

Part of the reason for a fourth fight against Martinez is the difficulty in finding suitable foes for Holm, Winkeljohn says.

"No one wants to fight Holly," says Mike Winkeljohn, Holm's trainer.

"She's cleared out the divisions between 140 and 154 and whoever's left doesn't want the fight. Angel is a top-quality opponent, and I give her a lot of credit for stepping up to the plate again - it's hard to say anything bad about her.

"She comes to fight, but you'll be seeing Holly at her best Friday night. I expect Holly to have one of her easiest fights."

Holm says the game plan could vary from outboxing Martinez on the outside to mixing it up at close quarters throughout the bout.

"Before Ann Marie Saccurato, Angel was my toughest opponent," Holm says. "They both hit real heard, but Ann Marie is wild while Angel throws those straight punches. She's more solid while Ann Marie is all over the place."

Holm says she's somewhat surprised the promotions for Friday night's fight aren't as aggressive as the tagline.

"I've had a lot of people come up and ask me when I'm fighting next," Holm says. "There could be more advertising."

Trainer Winkeljohn isn't too concerned.

"Holly will still sell out the show," he says. "And she still gets paid the same, so it doesn't matter."

In the co-main event, former contender Frankie Archuleta (24-5-1, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas, N.M., will end a 2-year layoff in an eight-round junior lightweight bout against Panama's Armando Cordova (23-28-2, 17 KOs). Cordova shouldn't pose too much of a threat, except for one bout ruled a no-contest, he's dropped 10 in a row.

On the undercard:

Bouncing back from a loss to former world champ "Bones" Adams, Albuquerque's David Martinez (17-3-1, 3 KOs) takes on the rugged Paulino Villalobos (26-37-2, 16 KOs) of Veracruz, Mexico, in an eight-rounder at 126; Albuquerque junior lightweight Willie Villanueva (6-0, 1 KO) goes six rounds with Cuauhtemoc Mendoza (3-2-1, 1 KO) of Mexico; Albuquerque's Jackie Chavez (9-3, 3 KOs) takes on contender Ada Velez (14-3-2, 6 KOs) of Puerto Rico, in a six-rounder at 122; and Rio Rancho welterweight Lucas Galle (0-1) goes four rounds with El Paso's Cornelius Shuler (1-0).