NEW YORK – Alycia Baumgardner admits it wasn’t her best performance, but it was enough to get the victory.
Baumgardner retained her undisputed junior lightweight championship Friday at Madison Square Garden with a unanimous decision victory over unbeaten but untested Spaniard Jennifer Miranda.
Two of the judges scored the fight 98-92, while the third had it 97-93, all in favor of Baumgardner, 16-1 (7 KOs).
Although the scores would suggest a routine, one-sided victory, it was anything but for Baumgardner, a 31-year-old from Fremont, Ohio. Working for the first time with trainer Derrick James, Baumgardner gave credit to Miranda, 12-1 (1 KO), where it was due.
“She was smarter [than I expected], she had a good game plan,” said Baumgardner.
Despite having more athleticism, Baumgardner had a hard time getting her offense going against Miranda, who, despite being billed as the same height as Baumgardner at 5ft 6ins, appeared noticeably taller and rangier. Baumgardner began to force the action in the third round, firing right hands but taking right hands as well, particularly when she pulled straight back from exchanges.
Baumgardner had more success with this strategy in the sixth round when she accepted that she would have to eat a few rights to land her own shots, but she forced Miranda into a pace that didn’t allow her to get set to box. By the seventh round, Miranda showed puffiness under both eyes, but she still had plenty of fight in her, opening the eighth with an offensive burst of straight punches that backed Baumgardner into the ropes.
The fight was the first for Baumgardner since last September, when her fight with Delfine Persoon ended in a no-contest due to an accidental head clash. Miranda, who is seven years older at 38, was fighting for the first time as a pro in the United States, having earned the opportunity by winning the WBA interim title last October with a unanimous decision over Teresa Almengor.
Baumgardner, who has fought just once this year and once last year, says she wants to remain active.
“I want to be right back, no time off,” said Baumgardner.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
