ALYCIA Baumgardner overcame a titanic effort from Jennifer Miranda, retaining her undisputed super-featherweight crown with a unanimous decision victory at Madison Square Garden, New York.
The judges’ scorecards, however, did very little to reflect the competitive nature of their encounter, as two officials, quite remarkably, even had it as wide as 98-92.
A final 97-93 conclusion then cemented Baumgardner’s rather flattering victory, with ‘The Bomb’ getting back to winning ways on the undercard of Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3.
Immediately, though, it was clear that Miranda, 12-1 (1 KO), boasted a considerable size advantage, her imposing frame towering over Baumgardner, 16-1 (7 KOs), during each of their exchanges.
After a quiet opening round, the Spaniard was then bundled to the canvas following assertive surge from Baumgardner, who has an argument to say that she should have been awarded a 10-8 round.
The referee, meanwhile, ultimately ruled it a no-knockdown, yet a barrage of promising right hands from the American nonetheless arrived soon after.
Miranda then responded with a series of reckless attacks, before refining her approach – while also landing several right hands of her own – in an encouraging fourth round.
To her credit, the aggression of her opponent inspired Baumgardner to adopt a more measured style, only until a thrilling sixth round saw both fighters go hell for leather.
The strength of Miranda, especially on the inside, then emerged as a decisive factor, with a dominant display in the eighth frame keeping their fight a nip and tuck affair.
Surprisingly enough, the 38-year-old’s right hand was even beginning to have a more punishing effect than that of Baumgardner’s, as that shot, in particular, seemingly reduced her opponent to a state of fatigue.
Yet despite celebrating immediately after the final bell dinged, the tenacious challenger was ultimately forced to suffer her first professional defeat.
“I definitely gave myself a B+; it wasn’t my best performance,” Baumgardner admitted in her post-fight interview.
“I’m just happy to be in the ring, [after] such a long layoff, and to just be able to get those rounds in.”
Her lack of activity in recent years can, of course, be explained by a failed drugs test in 2023, to which the WBC responded by clearing her of any intentional wrongdoing.
