Undisputed 130 pound women’s champ Alycia Baumgardner has been cleared to resume her ring career, the 15-1 (7) Baumgardner having had her suspension lifted by the Association of Boxing Commissions. RingTV.com reported this news. Baumgardner’s failed test of last August saw her fight to clear her name, and now, having consistently claimed her innocence, the super featherweight champion is looking forward to getting back in the ring.
And it hasn’t taken Baumgardner long to be offered a suitable challenger. Indeed, Baumgardner has been ordered by the WBC to defend against her mandatory challenger, Delfine Persoon. As per the WBC official web site, the Baumgardner-Persoon fight will go to purse bids, the scheduled bid to take place this Friday. Fans will recall Persoon’s two terrific battles with Katie Taylor, these close decision defeats the only losses from that last 13 years that all-action warrior Persoon has suffered. And a fan could argue Persoon deserved the decision in both wars.
Persoon of Belgium is 49-3(19) overall and she has won five and boxed a no contest since the losses to Taylor that saw her come so close to taking the unified lightweight titles, these two great fights taking place in 2019 and 2020. Persoon has been stopped just once, this way back in 2010, and she might give Baumgardner her toughest fight to date if this one indeed comes off.
Baumgardner, no stranger to trash-talking, is a decade younger than Persoon, and she is the fresher fighter, with far less miles on the clock. Last time out, “The Bomb” made a second successful defence of her unified 130 pound titles, this with a wide decision win over Christina Linardatou. Baumgardner unified the four belts with a close, debatable split decision win over Mikaela Mayer in October of 2022, with Baumgardner then becoming a five-belt champ in her next fight, this a UD win over Elhem Mekhaled.
Baumgardner is a very good fighter, and news of her failed test caused quite the shock. Now, cleared and ready to rumble again, Baumgardner may well have a tough, thrilling fight on her hands with Persoon.
But let’s see who wins the purse bid on Friday.
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