Baumgardner maintains unified title; Green taken off on stretcher following surprising defeat.
NEW YORK — Unified junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner reached out to embrace Bo Mi Re Shin as the final moments ticked away in their unified junior lightweight title bout early Saturday morning.
The contest was demanding, yet Baumgardner predominantly dictated the action, winning against Shin by unanimous decision to retain her WBA, WBO, and IBF titles. The judges scored the match 98-92, 98-92, and 99-91.
“All I knew was, I had to be consistent and use my jab to set things up,” Baumgardner stated in the ring post-fight. “It was my responsibility to control the pace and establish my shots.”
Baumgardner’s title defense came after a concerning incident in the co-main event, where unified super middleweight champion Shadasia Green was removed from the ring on a stretcher following her unexpected knockout defeat to Lani Daniels.
Mike Leanardi, head of boxing at Most Valuable Promotions, reported that Green was taken to a nearby hospital and was conscious and communicating.
The main event featured Baumgardner competing in three-minute rounds for the second time in her career.
In the days leading up to the match, Baumgardner mentioned that she learned about pacing and taking her time from her first experience with three-minute rounds last year, when she triumphed over Leila Boudoin. That fight demonstrated to Baumgardner that she could successfully navigate longer rounds.
“Now I want to incorporate the other aspects of my game that I know I can showcase,” she remarked before her bout against Shin. “And that’s the more aggressive, hungrier, and determined side. That’s what I’m striving for Friday night.”
Baumgardner’s enthusiasm increased even before the fight commenced, with rapper Lil’ Kim entering the ring with her track “The Jump Off.”
After spending the initial minute assessing Shin, Baumgardner (18-1, 7 KOs, 1 NC) found her rhythm, launching precise jabs to establish distance in the first round and then alternating between body shots and head strikes in the second.
She delivered several clean uppercuts to Shin’s head in the fourth round, energizing the crowd with what initially seemed to be a knockdown before referee Sparkle Lee waved it off.
Shin’s strongest round occurred in the sixth, where she connected with a sharp jab followed by a clean cross and uppercut to Baumgardner’s head, catching her off guard. Shin (19-4-3, 10 KO) then pressured Baumgardner for part of the seventh round, including a barrage of punches as the round concluded.
Baumgardner, ranked No. 7 pound-for-pound by ESPN, regained her composure in the eighth round and endured aggressive onslaughts from Shin in the final round. After the match, Baumgardner called out unified junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor.
Taylor, currently ranked No. 2 pound-for-pound by ESPN, has expressed her desire for one more fight before retirement.
In the co-main event, Daniels (12-4-2, 2 KOs) secured the IBF and WBO super middleweight titles with her ninth-round TKO victory over Green (16-3, 11 KOs).
The stoppage occurred after Daniels landed a series of right hands to Green’s head, prompting the referee to stop the contest 32 seconds into the round when Green failed to respond with a punch.
Green was initially standing after the defeat before being seated on a stool. She was then swiftly placed on a stretcher and taken out of the ring, with MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian following closely behind. Bidarian accompanied Green to the hospital.
Daniels was also taken to a local hospital for precautionary measures, according to Leanardi.
