Lisa Holewyne was born in Hawaii and moved to Texas when in seventh grade. She graduated from Spring Branch High School in Houston in 1984 and from the University of Texas with a BBA in 1989.

Lisa was an outstanding athlete in both softball and track while she was in high school. Her all-round athletic abilities led her track coaches at the University of Texas to encourage her to compete in the seven-event heptathlon, which includes the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200- and 800-meter races, long jump and javelin.

After taking up boxing, Lisa won several regional Golden Gloves titles before she began to fight professionally in 1998. Her goal is "to be the best and raise the sport of female boxing."

Turning professional when she was 32, Holewyne compiled a ring career of 44 bouts (25-17-2) over eight years (1998-06) encompassing 267 rounds. These were, indeed, the formative days of the sport, a time when records were earned as a result of competitive matchups among quality fighters and Holewyne’s career is a roadmap of bouts against the top names in the sport: Christy Martin (to whom Holewyne is currently married), Mary Jo Sanders, Marischa Sjuaw, Sunshine Fettkether and Layla McCarter. And probably most notably, Sumya Anani who, at the time, was, pointedly, being avoided by most of the top boxers in the sport. Holewyne fought Anani twice.

It was that “fight anyone--anywhere” mentality that identifies Lisa Holewyne as a deserving recipient of IWBHF induction and puts her on the list of building blocks for the success her sport has achieved through the present time and seems destined for in the future.