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 former lightweight titleholder 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.

Last year, Baumgardner signed with Most Valuable Promotions. She appeared on two undercards, outpointing the 12-0 Jennifer Miranda last July underneath Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano III and then taking a wide decision over the 13-1 Leila Beaudoin in December on the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua show.

Baumgardner-Beaudoin was contested over 12 three-minute rounds, an extreme rarity in women’s boxing, where the standard for title fights is 10 two-minute rounds. This main event bout against Shin is scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds.

If she wins, will Baumgardner remain at 130? She could face Caroline Veyre, who picked up the vacant WBC belt, and go for undisputed again. Or perhaps featherweight champ Amanda Serrano could meet Baumgardner in a superfight. Tiara Brown, who has a title belt at 126lbs, could move up. Or if Baumgardner decides to go up to lightweight, there’s unified titleholder Caroline Dubois.

All of these names except for Veyre are with MVP; Veyre is with Salita Promotions, though that fight could probably still be made without politics getting in the way. But first Baumgardner needs to get this fight with Shin out of her way. 

Shin, 19-3-3 (10 KOs), is a junior lightweight contender from Seoul, South Korea. The 32-year-old Shin has been a pro for a decade now, making her debut in March 2016.

Her route toward contention wasn’t the smoothest. Three of Shin’s first six bouts ended in draws. Her first loss came in 2020 by unanimous decision against a debuting opponent who, per BoxRec, has apparently never fought again. But Shin followed that up with six straight wins, the last of which was a unanimous nod in February 2023 over the 16-2-1 Diana Rodriguez.

That victory landed Shin a fight three months later with the aforementioned Delfine Persoon, a former lightweight titleholder. A win over Persoon would have provided Shin a good push forward. Alas, she lost via split decision.

After three more wins, Shin got a title shot against Caroline Dubois for the WBC lightweight belt in March 2025. Once again, she came up short on the scorecards, dropping a majority decision. Shin returned last November and took a majority decision over the 6-2-2 Tywarna Campbell.

The undercard at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City includes a second title fight. Unified super middleweight titleholder Shadasia Green, 16-1 (11 KOs), will put her IBF and WBO belts on the line against Lani Daniels, 11-4-2 (1 KO), a former light heavyweight and heavyweight titlist coming off consecutive decisions losses in 2025 to Claressa Shields and the 6-0 Sarah Scheurich.

Also on the main broadcast is a bantamweight fight featuring Krystal Rosado, 8-1 (2 KOs), against Fernanda Reyes Delgado, 8-0 (0 KOs); and an eight-round flyweight match featuring Natalie Dove, 7-0-1 (2 KOs), against Maria Micheo, 14-6 (8 KOs)

Plus, there is a preliminary undercard with a super middleweight bout between Raquel Miller, 13-0 (6 KOs), and Adriana Dos Santos Araujo, 6-3 (1 KO), who won a bronze medal at lightweight in the 2012 Olympics; as well as the continued development of a few MVP prospects.

More fights to watch

Friday, April 17: Nathaniel Collins vs Cristobal Lorente II (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. BST).

Last October, Collins and Lorente fought to a draw in Glasgow, Scotland. They will return to Glasgow for this rematch, headlining at The OVO Hydro. This is an elimination bout for the right to challenge for the WBC featherweight title currently held by Bruce Carrington.

Collins, 17-0-1 (8 KOs), is a 29-year-old from Bearsden, Scotland, not too far from where this show will be taking place. He is ranked first at 126lbs by the WBC, and ninth by the IBF and WBO. Prior to the first fight in Lorente, Collins shined last May with a fourth-round TKO of the 15-1-1 Lee McGregor.

Lorente, 20-0-3 (8 KOs), is a 30-year-old from Spain. He is ranked second by the WBC. Lorente shares a common opponent with Collins. Lorente triumphed via unanimous decision against the 18-3-2 Francesco Grandelli in December 2024; Collins did the same seven months earlier. A few months before the first fight with Collins, Lorente fought to a draw in July with the 8-0 Ruben Gil.

Friday, April 17: Artem Suslenkov vs Artur Mann (IBA Boxing YouTube page)

The broadcast begins at 9 a.m. ET (2 p.m. BST).

Suslenkov is a 30-year-old heavyweight from Russia who stands 6-foot-1 and has been weighing in recently between 233 and 241lbs. He is 13-0 (8 KOs), plus 2-0 (1 KO) in IBA Pro bouts, which BoxRec lists separately. Suslenkov’s most recent outing saw him knock out the 14-1 Stanley Wright in the sixth round of an IBA Pro bout in December.

Mann, 23-5 (14 KOs), is a 35-year-old from Germany who is also 6-foot-1 and spent most of his career at or around the cruiserweight limit. In his final bout in the 200lbs weight class, Mann was taken out in seven rounds by former light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev almost exactly a year ago. Mann returned this past February at heavyweight, coming in at 222.5lbs and needing just 90 seconds to dispose of the 12-3-1 Gregory Garcia.

This show will take place in Serpukhov, Russia.

Saturday, April 18: Ben Whittaker vs Braian Suarez (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. BST).

This show at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, was originally supposed to be headlined by a clash of light heavyweights Callum Smith and David Morrell Jnr. But when Smith pulled out with a reported injury, Ben Whittaker vs Braian Suarez was announced as the new main event.

Whittaker, 10-0-1 (7 KOs), is a light heavyweight who captured Olympic silver in 2021 for Team Great Britain. The 28-year-old hails from West Bromwich England, and is ranked No. 3 by the WBC, No. 5 by the IBF and No. 13 by the WBO.

In his most recent outing, Whittaker blew out the 19-1 Benjamin Gavazi in the first round. Prior to that, Whittaker had a two-fight series with Liam Cameron. Their first meeting, in October 2024, was a close fight with a controversial ending. In the fifth round, both men went over the top rope, and Whittaker said he hurt his leg and could not continue. Whittaker’s detractors accused him of quitting because the bout was perhaps tougher than he had anticipated. He did his best to shush those critics in a rematch in April, putting Cameron away in the second round.

Suarez, 21-4 (20 KOs), is a 34-year-old from Argentina. All four of his defeats came when he stepped up against familiar names. Suarez was knocked out in one round by Albert Ramirez in 2022. He was taken out in the 10th round by Lyndon Arthur in 2023. Suarez was gone after five minutes with prospect Sharabutdin Ataev in 2024. And he dropped a majority decision to the 14-0 Vasily Voytsekhovsky last July. Suarez returned in November and made short work of a 9-6 foe.

Also on the undercard are three junior featherweight bouts. One is between Peter McGrail, 12-2 (6 KOs), and Ckari Mansilla, 18-4 (13 KOs). Another is a battle of unbeaten prospects Joe McGrail, 12-0 (5 KOs), and Aaron Hayden, 10-0 (2 KOs). And the third will see former MMA fighter Molly McCann, 3-0 (1 KO), take on Ashleigh Johnson, 3-3.

Saturday, April 18: Jonny Mansour vs William King (pay-per-view available via traditional cable providers, as well as DISH, PPV.com, Triller, BASH TV and Fubo)

The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. ET (2 a.m. BST).

Mansour, 6-0 (2 KOs), is a 25-year-old lightweight from La Mesa, California. King, 6-3-2 (3 KOs), is a 30-year-old from Perris, California.

This show will also feature Mansour’s cousin, featherweight Julius “JuJu” Ballo, 2-0, against Roman Reyes, 6-1 (5 KOs).

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.