By Vince D’Writer: In the Matchroom Boxing headliner that took place at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, live on DAZN, undisputed super-featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner got her lick-back in her homecoming bout, as she defeated Christina Linardatou (14-3, 6 KOs) by way of unanimous decision.
Five years ago Alycia Baumgardner was a first year pro with a record of 6-0. Back in July of 2018, she lost her undefeated record, and WBC International title by way of split decision to Christina Linardatou.
Baumgardner would bounce back by winning her next four fights, and in November 2021 she defeated Terri Harper and won the WBC super-featherweight title. Baumgardner continued to collect title belts, and after defeating Elhem Mekhaled in February 2023, she became an undisputed champion.
Five months later, the new undisputed champion would revisit her past as she was set to make the first defense of her undisputed crown against Christina Linardatou, the woman who gave her the first and only loss of her career.
In the opening round of the rematch, Baumgardner came out utilizing her jab, while Linardatou used a lot of head movement and feints. Baumgardner closed out the opening round by landing a flurry of shots to the head and body of her opponent.
Linardatou was more offensive minded in the second and third rounds as she finally started to let her hands go. At the beginning of the 4th round Linardatou landed a solid right hand, but later in the same round, Baumgardner connected with a big right hand shot, and followed it up with a flurry to the head and body of Linardatou.
Late in round 5 Baumgardner caught Linardatou with an uppercut, and in the following round she hit her opponent with three consecutive uppercuts. Linardatou was aggressive and competitive, but she wasn’t having success winning rounds.
In the eighth round of the bout, Baumgardner landed multiple right hand shots that forced her opponent to the ropes. The undisputed champion continued to connect with hard shots until the bell sounded to officially end the round.
Linardatou came out swinging in the tenth round, but unfortunately for her, the accuracy just wasn’t there. Baumgardner remained poised and closed out the fight by landing a few clean, sharp punches.
At the conclusion of 10-rounds, Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) earned the unanimous decision victory by the scores of 98-92, 98-92, and 99-91. With the win Baumgardner got her revenge, and now she can officially close that chapter of her career.
During her post-fight interview, Alycia Baumgardner called out Katie Taylor, Chantelle Cameron and Amanda Serrano. The ambitious 29-year-old undisputed super-featherweight champion challenged three other champions, but her promoter Eddie Hearn has one particular champion in mind.
“I think the city of Detroit should be very proud of Alycia Baumgardner. I think she’s a great representative of the city,” Hearn said. “She’s an undisputed champion. She’s had big fights, but she has yet to have the mega fights, and that’s what she deserves now. I think the fight with Amanda Serrano is an incredible fight.”
On the night of July 15th, Christina Linardatou found out that Alycia Baumgardner is not the same fighter she faced in 2018. The 2023 version of Alycia Baumgardner is a boxer who is sharper, is more skilled, and she’s the 130-pound undisputed champion.
In the current landscape of women’s boxing, Alycia Baumgardner is one of the elite. Now she has reached the point of her career where all of her fights should be big fights. The potential matchup with Amanda Serrano is a massive event that would feature two highly skilled power punchers. Hopefully fight fans can get that matchup signed, sealed, and delivered sometime in the near future.
