Alycia Baumgardner upset Mikaela Mayer to unify the super-featherweight division and settle their bad blood in a tense and close contest at The O2 in London.
The Ohio woman produced an array of eye-catching power shots, but Mayer appeared incredulous when responding to the split decision, with the former Olympian dropping a decision that saw the Bomb handed the contest twice by a score of 96-95, with Mayer favoured on one car by 97-93.
Mayer’s jab emerged as the dominant punch throughout the 10-round contest, dictating the centre of the ring and routinely landing on Baumgardner.
But ‘AB’ was explosive and countered superbly throughout a cagey affair that lacked rhythm and perhaps fell slightly short of the expectations for a fight where both fighters have been talked about as future opponents for Katie Taylor in the division above.
A rematch may appeal with neither fighter consistently able to shine and a clear winner lacking.
