At the age of 27, Abie is a four-year pro. A prospect at 154 pounds, he has stayed active in the ring and made good progress.

He is coming off a fourth-round TKO win against Joseph Gomez in his last fight June 16. The fight was on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Andy Lee main event.

Bill Knight of the El Paso Times reported from ringside: Abie Han was pounding - simply pummeling tough Joseph Gomez - under the blistering sun Saturday in the Sun Bowl.

And then, suddenly, a towel came floating into the ring ... the universal sign in boxing of submission. Gomez's corner had seen enough, wanted their fighter to take no more punishment.

Han punctuated big right hands with fierce body work, dropping Gomez three times in the third round and another time in the fourth round before the towel stopped the beating.

Referee Rocky Burke spotted the towel quickly, stepped in and waved off the fight at 1:39 of the fourth round.

"Nothing is ever perfect," Han said. "There's always things to improve on. But I was happy, going to the body. (Trainer) Louie (Burke) kept telling me go to the body, go to the body. Louie told me to look for the right hand, that he was dropping his left when I jabbed.

"The best thing is that my hand didn't hurt for the first time in a long time," Han said. "I haven't had any knockouts in a while because of my hand."

"Abie's had some good performances and this was another good one," said Han's trainer Burke. "I would have liked for him to throw a few more combinations. But he was patient, found his rhythm and was really picking his shots." [End Knight item]

From the El Paso Times [Feb. 16, 2011, excerpts]: Abie Han sat down Wednesday afternoon, signed on the dotted line and then let out a sigh of relief. He believes the door to his boxing career has finally been opened.

Han signed with famed Top Rank Inc., putting his name on a four-year contract that guarantees him a minimum of five fights a year.

“I feel like this is the quick way to where I want to go,” the 26-year-old light middleweight said. “I feel like I’m ready for anybody. I could only get two fights my first year. The last two years I’ve worked out, I’ve always been in the gym. But either we couldn’t get fights or when we did, guys would back out. I feel good that somebody like Top Rank wanted to invest in me for four years.”

Bruce Trampler, longtime matchmaker for Top Rank in Las Vegas, said, “At the end of the year, at the beginning of the new year, we are always looking to expand our roster. Abie’s name kept coming up. Louie (Burke, Han's trainer) fought for us and so his name carries more weight. But we get dozens and dozens of fighters wanting us to look at them each year - from amateurs to young professionals, like Abie, to seasoned veterans and world champions.

“There are no favor jobs in this business,” Trampler said. “Bob (Arum, CEO) wasn’t in town when Abie fought here in January. We showed Bob the tape of that fight in our video room and he loved it. He really likes Abie. You know how we operate. We don’t push or rush. We want Abie to one day, not only fight for a world title, but win it.”

Burke, who began training Han as an amateur, said, “I’m really excited about this partnership. This is an opportunity for Abie to not only fight and fight regularly, but to also be on TV and get that exposure. In the past, nobody wanted to fight Abie. Now we are with the biggest promotional company in the world. And I’m not just blowing smoke. Abie will be a world champion."

“I'm just excited and ready to go,” said Han, the Irvin High graduate who will graduate from UTEP in May. “I think all this waiting might have helped me get ready and it didn’t hurt anything but my patience. I’m still young and now I feel like I’m ready to fight anybody.” [End Times item]

Fight by Fight – 2012 - in his last fight on 6-16-12 in El Paso, TX, he TKOd Joseph Gomez (18-5-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Andy Lee main event, and Abie dominated; he wore down Gomez with left hooks to the body, and scored three knockdowns with right hands in the 3^rd round; he scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 4^th, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:39; after the fight, Abie said, “He got me with some light shots, but never hurt me. It was kind of nice to have someone who would stand up and fight me.”…

On 3-23-12 in Tucson, AZ, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Rahman Yusubov (8-5): the fight was on the undercard of the Diego Magdaleno-Fernando Beltran main event, and Abie dominated; he consistently outworked Yusubov, landed the harder punches, and won by scores of 60-54, 60-54, 59-55…

2011 – on 10-29-11 in Thackerville, OK, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Eloy Suarez (11-12-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Vanes Martirosyan-Richard Gutierrez main event; Abie dominated the fight and won by decisive scores…

On 7-30-11 in Denver, CO, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Justin Williams (3-3-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Mike Alvarado-Gabriel Martinez main event; Abie was cut under his left eye, but dominated most of the fight; scored 58-56, 58-56, 59-55…

On 5-6-11 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Taronze Washington (14-14): scored 60-54 on all three scorecards…

On 1-22-11 in Las Vegas he TKOd Orphius Waite (5-2-1): Abie scored a knockdown in the 1^st round; he scored another knockdown in the 2^nd, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:14…

2010 – on 9-24-10 in El Paso he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Hilario Lopez (12-10): scored 60-54 on all three scorecards…

On 5-6-10 in Dallas, TX, he TKOd Jose Gonzalez (13-7-1): at 2:22 of the 2^nd round…

On 3-27-10 in Monterrey, MX, he knocked out Ulises Duarte (19-15): at 1:00 of the 1^st round…

2009 – on 12-16-09 in Texarkana, AR, he knocked out Adam Morgan (debut): at 2:39 of the 1^st round…

On 9-12-09 in Monterrey he knocked out Alfonso Gonzalez (1-4): at 2:49 of the 3^rd round…

On 7-31-09 in Las Cruces, NM, he TKOd Sergio Santana (0-1): at 3:00 of the 3^rd round…

On 7-24-09 in El Paso he knocked out Brian Soto (3-0): Abie scored a knockdown in the 1^st round; he scored another knockdown in the 2^nd, and Soto was counted out at 2:20…

On 5-21-09 in San Diego, CA, he won a 4 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Ibrahiem King (6-0): scored 58-56, 58-56, 60-54…

On 3-14-09 in Torreon, MX, he TKOd Hiram Lleverino (debut): at 2:18 of the 1^st round…

2008 – on 9-12-08 in Lawton, OK, he knocked out Chris Shelton (0-2): at 1:15 of the 1^st round…

He debuted at the age of 23 on 12-27-07 in Las Cruces and TKOd Sergio Lara (debut): at 2:43 of the 1^st round…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: From Fightnews.com, by Chris Cozzone (Jan. 21, 2011, excerpts]: There’s a thin line between humility and exaggeration. Five minutes talking with undefeated Abraham “Abie” Han, you’ll be asking yourself whether it’s better to believe this kid is the best thing to come out of El Paso since Chico’s Tacos, or if it’s better to second guess yourself that what you saw in the ring was an illusion of talent and raw power.

Backed by 400 amateur bouts split between boxing and kickboxing, Han’s record speaks volumes, suggesting safety in buying into the hype.

But Han says otherwise.

“I was a horrible amateur,” Han will say one minute, followed by something like, “I may end up just another statistic that kickboxers can’t make it in boxing.”

What? What about the usual, “I’m gonna be world champ!”?

You won’t get that from Han. The reason? Humility that has been bred into the 26-year-old junior middleweight from the age of 10 when he first laced up a pair of gloves.

Raised in martial arts by his father, Master Bae Han, who is originally from Korea, Abie laced up at 10 for kickboxing, then 12, for boxing. With around 200 bouts apiece in the two sports, Han won several national kickboxing titles before going pro in 2007, but fell short at the top level of amateur boxing - though he did win his division at the Eastern Olympics Trials one year.

“I had a horrible record as an amateur boxer,” laughs Han. “Something like 80 losses. I fell short.”

With Han, you always have to dig a little deeper. In doing so, you’ll find that most of the losses were early on.

“I hated it at first,” Han admits. “I lost so much, I didn’t want to do it anymore. But I guess you learn from losing - I started to turn it around.”

Though fighting as a world class kickboxer and, at least, a national level competitor in boxing, Han never looked too deep into a pro career.

“That’s why I’m so surprised I’ve gotten to where I am today,” says the 26-year-old El Pasoan.

Though attributing a big chunk of his success in the ring to mere “luck,” Han credits the rest to those around him: his family, trainers Louie Burke and Moose Gomez, and teammate Austin Trout.

“Louie Burke has really made the difference in my career,” Han says. “I could’ve done much better as an amateur if I had Louie early. I’ve made that much progress with him.”

Under Burke, Han turned pro in December 2007 in Las Cruces, N.M. and has remained undefeated as a pro, the only blemishes being an occasional layoff due to difficulties in obtaining fights.

“The other thing that has made me a better fighter is sparring with Austin Trout,” says Han.

Trout…is a full-time sparring partner for Han. As amateurs, Han and Trout were no strangers, fighting no less than seven times. Han won the first three; Trout swept the last four.

“Austin made that much progress after we fought the first three times,” says Han. “You couldn’t ask for a better sparring partner. When we spar, I go in there to kill him, but trying to hit him is like trying to hit a balloon. He keeps the passion going.”

There is no excuse for lack of passion or motivation for Han, who says he is surrounded by it. If sparmates and trainers aren’t enough, Han looks to his siblings.

Abie is just one of the fighting Han family, which consists of three sisters and a brother. Jennifer is a former national amateur champion, and 1-1-1 as a pro; Stephanie is the No. 1 132-pound female amateur in the country, having recently won the 2010 National Golden Gloves; Heather is a top amateur; and Israel (“Izzy”) is on the rise as an amateur supermiddleweight.

“My sisters were always better than me,” Han admits. “They kick my ass – they have my number. Fighting has always been about not wanting to fall behind.”

“After this is all over - my career - I don’t want to look back with doubt. I don’t want to say I didn’t get this chance or opportunity. I don’t want to have any regrets.” [End Cozzone item]

STRENGTHS: Has good skills and movement…has good punching power…can switch effectively to the lefthanded stance…had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 17 fights…56 total rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 3.3 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 64 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 6 rounds – 6 (6-0)…4 rounds – 1 (1-0)…