Baumgardner, Dubois prevail on Paul v Joshua bill
Johnson, Valle also retain belts in undercard fights
Four women’s title fights aired to global audience
Four women’s world title fights took place on the undercard of Friday night’s Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua event at Miami’s Kaseya Center, with Alycia Baumgardner, Caroline Dubois, Cherneka Johnson and Yokasta Valle all retaining their championships on a card that once again placed women’s boxing on one of the sport’s biggest global stages.
Alycia Baumgardner (17-1, 7 KOs), one of the sport’s biggest stars, successfully defended her WBO, IBF and WBA junior lightweight titles with a wide unanimous decision over Leila Beaudoin in a contest held under men’s championship rules with 12 rounds of three minutes each. The 31-year-old Ohio native, who rose to prominence by stopping Terri Harper in 2021 before unifying all four belts to become the undisputed champion in 2023, repeatedly punished Beaudoin with body shots, finally dropping her with a right hook to the temple at the bell ending the seventh round.
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