Alycia Baumgardner Confident On Beating Elhem Mekhaled via Knockout!
Unified women’s junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner (13-1, 7 KOs) is just two days away from her February 4 battle against France’s Elhem Mekhaled (15-1, 3 KOs) at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. Baumgardner is excited about fighting on such a big stage.
ANXIOUS TO FIGHT
During an interview with iFL TV, the resident of Detroit, Michigan says she’s raring to go and that this fight is the culmination of what she’s gone through as a pro.
“Well prepared, ready to fight, ready for battle . . . Now, here we are in New York at the Hulu Theater, ready to become undisputed. So, it tells a story, and that journey has been amazing.”
For Baumgardner, she’s looking forward to fighting on home soil again. It’s her first fight in the United States since an eight-round decision victory over Vanessa Bradford in August 2021. Baumgardner’s last three fights have been in England, including a fourth-round stoppage over Terri Harper to win the WBC title in April 2022 and a split-decision win over Mikaela Mayer to become the unified champion in October 2022.
Now she faces Mekhaled, who looks like someone that will not be an easy out. The native of Paris, France is tough and comes to fight. Her sole loss was against ex-WBC lightweight champion Delfine Persoon in May 2022. Though she came up on the losing end, Mekhaled gave Persoon a rough go.
BREAKING DOWN HER FOE
But The Bomb feels she’s prepared to deal with whatever the French woman brings on fight night. Baumgardner has studied Mekhaled and notices some things she can take advantage of.
“Some weakness that I’ve seen is that she definitely keeps a high guard which means her body’s open. She definitely takes a lot of punches and she comes forward, which means that she’s open to taking some shots.”
Baumgardner has power in both hands. She hopes to use patience and boxing skills to set up the big shots. If able to execute her game plan, The Bomb predicts an explosive outcome.
“I definitely see a knockout. I don’t know which round but I definitely feel it.”
Baumgardner – Mekhaled is being promoted as a contest for undisputed status at 130. But as a point of order, the WBO is on the record stating that, in their eyes, this bout is not for the true undisputed championship. Despite that discrepancy, The Bomb believes a win makes her the queen of the division.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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