ALYCIA BAUMGARDNER and Gary Antuanne Russell have been added to the undercard of Jake Paul vs Gervonta Davis, with the former gearing up to make her 12, three-minute round debut.
The updates arrived via an MVP Promotions press release earlier today, confirming that the pair’s respective outings will take place at the Kaseya Center, Miami, on November 14.
For Baumgardner, 16-1 (7 KOs), this represents a particularly significant moment, making her only the second woman, behind Amanda Serrano, to prepare for a contest scheduled for 12, three-minute rounds.
As a result, the former undisputed champion was seemingly forced to vacate her WBC title, with the sanctioning body’s president, Mauricio Sulaiman, appearing to have maintained his stance against the longer format for women.
But nevertheless, Baumgardner will enter her next outing, against Canada’s Leila Beaudoin, with three of the four major belts at super-featherweight.
‘The Bomb’ retained those titles in July, albeit under somewhat contentious circumstances, after coming through a tougher-than-expected battle with Jennifer Miranda on the undercard of Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 3.
It was also the first time that Baumgardner had completed the more traditional 10, two-minute round distance since her positive drugs test, which prompted the WBC to clear her of not ‘intentionally’ taking the banned substance that was detected in her system.
As for Russell, the WBA world champion will face mandatory challenger Andy Hiraoka, a nightmarishly awkward operator who carries dynamite in both fists, in a far more appealing super-lightweight contest.
Russell claimed his WBA strap earlier this year, dethroning Jose Valenzuela with a unanimous decision victory just over nine months removed from his defeat to Alberto Puello.
Hiraoka, meanwhile, comes off an emphatic ninth-round finish over seasoned veteran Ismael Barroso, but also boasts a prior stoppage win over recent world title challenger Jin Sasaki.
