NEW YORK – Alycia Baumgardner walked to the ring with “Queen B” Lil’ Kim on Saturday and then showed why she’s boxing’s queen at 130lbs.
In a fight that started well after midnight Saturday morning, Baumgardner, a 31-year-old from Detroit, retained her IBF, WBO and WBA junior lightweight belts in a hard-fought decision win over South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The scores were 99-91 on one card and 98-92 on the other two, as Baumgardner maintained her unified status in the division where she has held a belt since 2021.
The 10-round fight, which headlined Most Valuable Promotions’ first US card in its new ESPN broadcast deal, was Baumgardner’s second straight bout of three-minute rounds, while Shin was fighting at that round length for the first time.
Baumgardner raised her record to 18-1 (7 KOs), while Shin dropped to 19-4-3 (10 KOs).
Baumgardner had a sharp beginning to the fight, landing with her right hands repeatedly in the first, thanks in part to her jabs. Baumgardner continued to take advantage of Shin’s lack of head movement, targeting combinations up the middle. Shin got back into the fight in a meaningful way in the third, landing several clubbing shots behind the ears that Baumgardner had to weather – and she did – before landing big power shots of her own. Baumgardner’s technical advantages were more clear in the fourth as she began to better establish her distance by stepping clockwise behind her jab and using that distance to land punches with full force.
As the fight wore on, the technical gap became more consequential. Shin’s tenacity kept her arms moving in close, but it was Baumgardner’s superior form that enabled her to land shots with full torque, rocking Shin back in the fifth round with uppercuts and hooks. Shin began to betray how the punches were affecting her as Baumgardner’s feints produced noticeable reactions.
Just as the fight was starting to get away from her, Shin’s nonstop pressure began to pay dividends. She forced Baumgardner into exchanges, getting the better of them and sending a tired Baumgardner walking slowly back to her corner. Shin continued to press the action in the seventh, not landing much cleanly but dictating the pace. Baumgardner’s footwork came back to life midway through the seventh as Shin, walking straight forward while not jabbing or cutting off the ring, allowed Baumgardner to potshot with light but accurate shots. Shin closed the round strongly with a flurry.
Baumgardner reasserted herself in the eighth round by picking off Shin down the middle and stepping around to her left as Shin followed her around the ring. The two brawled to the final bell, bringing the fans out of their seats.
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.
