Undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner is on her way back to the ring. Two days after news broke that the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) lifted her suspension, the WBC has ordered her to face mandatory challenger Delfine Persoon, scheduling a purse bid for this coming Friday.
Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KO) hasn’t fought since avenging her lone career defeat to Christina Linardatou last July, as a pre-fight sample tested positive for two banned substances. She maintained her innocence throughout, and after “several issues” emerged concerning the handling of the original test, she’s cleared to make her second undisputed defense.
That’s easier said than done. Though she turned 39 in January, Persoon (49-3, 19 KO) is far and away the most noteworthy remaining challenger at 130. Her only losses in the last 13 years were razor-thin decisions to Katie Taylor and her nonstop aggression poses a very interesting challenge to Baumgardner’s stop-and-go style.
Let’s see how the purse bid plays out.