Ever the visionary, Alycia Baumgardner knew that her shot at revenge would come when the time was right.
Five years later, that time has arrived.
Baumgardner was just six wins into her pro career when she dropped an eight-round split decision to Christina Linardatou in their July 2018 prospect encounter. Linardatou (14-2, 6KOs) won a title in her very next fight, while the rebuilding process began for Baumgardner, who changed her entire team and has since emerged as the undisputed junior lightweight champion and one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best.
Everything she’s worked for is at stake in their rematch this Saturday atop a DAZN show from Masonic Temple in her hometown of Detroit, Michigan.
“I’m coming for destruction,” Baumgardner insisted of her approach for the second act. “This is that grown woman strength that I had to gain. I have that now. I’m ready to really put these hands on her and get that lick-back that I’ve been waiting on for a minute.”
Baumgardner (14-1, 7KOs) has won eight in a row, the last four of which have been spent winning and collecting major titles. Her breakthrough moment came in Nov. 2021, when she knocked out unbeaten WBC junior lightweight champion Terri Harper on the road in Sheffield, England. Two fights later, Baumgardner annexed the IBF and WBO titles in a ten-round win over then-unbeaten and unified titlist Mikaela Mayer last October 15 in London.
A long overdue return to the U.S. saw Baumgardner complete her undisputed run with a ten-round, unanimous decision over France’s Elhem Mekhaled to win the WBA strap and fully unify the 130-pound division. Their February 4 clash at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City saw Baumgardner fulfill a dream, but with plenty more to achieve.
She now gets to check two boxes in one outing—a hometown headliner and the chance to avenge her lone career defeat. It’s why she chose Linardatou as the opponent for this very occasion.
“This is a full circle moment for me,” stated Baumgardner, who is a -1000 favorite according to bet365 sportsbook. “She faced a little girl back then. She’s gonna see a grown woman this time.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox