Alycia Baumgardner Dominates Edith Soledad Matthysse to Remain Champion!
At the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) made her first defense of the WBC junior lightweight title against Argentina’s Edith Soledad Matthysse (17-12-1, 1 KO). Baumgardner’s goal heading in was to continue the momentum she set in 2021. In November of that year, the 27-year-old scored a fourth-round TKO over Terri Harper to win the title. She’s suddenly become one of the new faces of boxing with aspirations of becoming an undisputed champion at 130.
She faced Matthysse, who has been a unified champion at featherweight. The 41-year-old is the definition of a true vet. She’s tough as they come but came into this one with impediments as she missed weight during the weigh-in, weighing 3.6 pounds over the 130-pound junior lightweight limit.
IN CONTROL FROM THE START
Baumgardner used the jab to set the tone while Matthysse tried to march forward behind a high guard. When on the inside, the challenger attempted to rough up the champ. However, Baumgardner has a solid defense and excellent footwork. She easily avoided the shots, then countered with her right hand.
The middle rounds saw the champ fight more in the center ring and began to put the combinations together. You also saw her start to work on the body of the Argentinian. Baumgardner was starting to dominate. Matthysse kept plugging forward but had no answers for the classy WBC champ.
HAVING IT HER WAY
It was more of the same during the later rounds. If there was one slight criticism of Baumgardner, she seemed to be fighting in cruise control. The challenger wasn’t doing much of anything. You got the sense that a stoppage was possible if Baumgardner had put her foot on the gas.
But all in all, it was a decisive performance as all three judges scored the fight 100-90 in favor of Baumgardner. Moving forward, the champ is looking for a unification bout against either WBA champ Hyun Mi Choi or unified women’s 130 pound champ Mikaela Mayer later this year.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
