Alycia Baumgardner’s reign as undisputed junior lightweight champion has come to an end.
Baumgardner has parted ways with her WBC world title, according to a post on social media by the sanctioning body’s leader, Mauricio Sulaiman.
Baumgardner still has the IBF, WBA and WBO belts at 130lbs and remains the true champion in her weight class – for now. The 31-year-old from Detroit has not yet indicated what her next move is, but after her most recent victory, Baumgardner signaled that she would soon go up in weight: “So many options to move up to 135, make these big super fights.”
Baumgardner, 16-1 (7 KOs), suffered her sole loss in July 2018 with the short end of a split decision against Christina Linardatou. In November 2021, Baumgardner stopped Terri Harper in the fifth round to win the WBC belt. That was the start of her run toward becoming undisputed.
Baumgardner scored a shutout in her first title defense against Edith Soledad Matthysse in April 2022. She then met Mikaela Mayer, who had the IBF and WBO titles, in a unification bout that October. Baumgardner won a split decision and emerged with the three belts. Four months later, in February 2023, Baumgardner added the WBA title with a wide win on the scorecards over Elhem Mekhaled.
The aftermath of Baumgardner’s fourth title defense, her first as undisputed champion, turned out to be highly controversial. She faced Linardatou in a July 2023 rematch, five years after they first met. This time, Baumgardner won a unanimous decision. But she tested positive for a pair of banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Baumgardner didn’t fight again for another 14 months. The win over Linardatou was never overturned by the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission. And the WBC said it had no proof that Baumgardner took the substances intentionally – a different standard than is typically required by athletic commissions.
None of the sanctioning bodies stripped Baumgardner. Her first bout back from the lengthy layoff was in September 2024 against Delfine Persoon. Baumgardner scored an early knockdown and was ahead on the cards going into the fourth round when the fighters’ heads clashed. Persoon was cut badly enough that the bout needed to be stopped. Given that four rounds had not yet been completed, it was ruled a “no contest.”
Earlier this year, Baumgardner signed with Most Valuable Promotions. She subsequently appeared on the undercard of Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III in July, outpointing Jennifer Miranda.
Baumgardner’s top-rated contender was Persoon in the IBF, WBC and WBO ratings. The WBA had the No. 1 spot vacant.
The titleholders at 135lbs are Beatriz Ferreira (IBF), Stephanie Han (WBA), Caroline Dubois (WBC) and the aforementioned Harper (WBO). There’s also the potential for a clash with Serrano now that her trilogy with Taylor has wrapped.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
