NEW YORK — Unified junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner reached out to embrace Bo Mi Re Shin as the final seconds of their unified junior lightweight title fight evaporated Friday night.
It was a grueling fight, but also one that – with the exception of a few rounds – Baumgardner largely controlled, defeating Shin by unanimous decision to defend her WBA, WBO and IBF titles. The judges scored the fight 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91.
“I just knew I had to be consistent and employ my striking to set things up,” Baumgardner said in the ring. “It was up to me to set the pace and take the shot.”
Baumgardner’s title defense came after a scary situation in the co-main event when unified super middleweight champion Shadasia Green was carried from the ring on a stretcher after an upset knockout loss to Lani Daniels.
Mike Leanardi, boxing chief for Most Valuable Promotions, said Green was taken to a local hospital and was awake and talking.
In the main event, Baumgardner fought three-minute rounds for the second time in her career.
In the days before the fight, Baumgardner said she had learned to take her time and keep the pace from the first fight to the three-minute rounds last year when she defeated Leila Beaudoin. This fight showed Baumgardner that she can fight effectively in longer rounds.
“Now I want to bring out the other parts of myself that I know I can bring out,” she said before the fight with Shin. “And that’s just the meaner side, more aggressive, hungry, willing to take it all. And that’s what my goal is on Friday night.”
Baumgardner’s energy increased before the fight, and rapper Lil’ Kim accompanied her to the ring with the song “The Jump Off.”
After spending the first minute assessing Shin, Baumgardner (18-1, 7 KO, 1 NC) entered the fight, attacking with immaculate jabs to gain distance in the first round and then alternating punches to the body and head in the second.
In the fourth round, she landed multiple immaculate uppercuts to Shin’s head, bringing the fans to their feet after what initially looked like a knockdown before referee Sparkle Lee waved it off.
Baumgardner said she believed it was a knockdown.
“I knew her aggression would be an advantage for me because she just comes forward,” Baumgardner said. “So timing is everything. You saw that with the uppercut.”
Shin’s best round came in the sixth, when she landed a immaculate jab and then a immaculate cross and uppercut to Baumgardner’s head that caught her off guard. Shin (19-4-3, 10 KO) kept the pressure on Baumgardner for part of the seventh round, landing a series of punches towards the end of the round.
Baumgardner, ESPN’s No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter, calmed down again in the eighth round and withstood Shin’s aggressive attacks in the final round. After the fight, Baumgardner called out unified junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor.
Taylor, the No. 2-ranked fighter in ESPN’s weight-for-pound rankings, said she wants one more fight before she retires.
Baumgardner said she had spoken to Taylor about a potential fight, adding that she would return to two-minute rounds if it meant finishing the fight.
“Yes,” Baumgardner said, sighing. “Anything to get the fight.”
In the co-main event, Daniels (12-4-2, 2 KO) won the IBF and WBO super middleweight titles by defeating Green (16-3, 11 KO) in the ninth round by TKO.
The fight was stopped after Daniels landed several right hands to Green’s head, leading the referee to stop the fight 32 seconds into the round after Green failed to land a punch.
Green initially stood in defeat before being placed on a stool. She was then quickly placed on a stretcher and taken out of the ring, followed by MVP General Manager Nakisa Bidarian. Bidarian accompanied Green to the hospital.
Daniels was also taken to a local hospital out of caution, according to Leanardi.
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