Baumgardner moves up and shuts out Turhan to seize IBF lightweight crown

Alycia Baumgardner is a world champion in two weight classes after a unanimous decision victory over Elif Nur Turhan at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas on Sunday night, according to Sky Sports Boxing.

All three judges scored it 100-90 for Baumgardner (19-1, 7 KOs), who moved up from 130 pounds, where she held every major belt, to take Turhan's IBF women's lightweight title, Yahoo Sports reported.

Turhan, previously unbeaten at 14-0 with 8 KOs, suffered the first defeat of her career as a result.

It did not look like a one-sided evening at the start. Turhan came out throwing wild, looping power shots from the opening bell, and several landed clean on Baumgardner as the second round turned into a genuine firefight, per Yahoo Sports.

Baumgardner adjusted in the third, switching her attack to the body and firing straighter shots through the middle as Turhan's looping punches began missing their mark. With 16 seconds remaining in that round, the referee moved in to separate the fighters at the very moment Baumgardner appeared poised to let her hands go, leaving the finish of the round in some disarray.

From the fourth round onward, Baumgardner took total control. She worked behind her jab, exchanged words with Turhan between combinations, and dictated range so completely that Turhan was reduced to walking into the jab to avoid her right hook.

Turhan tried to force the pace in the fifth, pushing forward with more urgency, but Baumgardner stayed a step ahead throughout. In the sixth she slipped Turhan's heaviest swings and countered with a clean overhand right in what Yahoo Sports described as one of her most commanding rounds.

The card was also disrupted by a ring malfunction: the ten-second warning buzzer sounded almost identically to the final bell, prompting both fighters to repeatedly stop early before the referee waved them back into action, including during the seventh round.

None of it slowed Baumgardner. She kept landing double jabs followed by right hands, and by the ninth round she was mixing in body uppercuts that visibly affected Turhan as the Texas crowd grew louder.

Turhan kept swinging to the end and showed a sturdy chin throughout, but she missed far more than she landed in the closing rounds. Baumgardner finished the job in the tenth, snapping Turhan's head back with a right hand before the final bell.

Baumgardner had predicted in fight week that Turhan was a one-way fighter who would be easy to hit, and the performance bore that out.

Speaking in her post-fight interview, Baumgardner said she had wanted to test Turhan's power for herself after being warned about her heavy hands. "And I liked it," Baumgardner said. "I'm just thankful because it takes a lot of work to get here. And baby, I'm a two-time world champ."

The celebration was interrupted almost immediately when Caroline Dubois grabbed a microphone from ringside and repeatedly shouted, "Are we fighting, champ?!" at Baumgardner.

Baumgardner has previously said she expects to face the winner of Dubois's fight with Stephanie Han for the undisputed lightweight championship, while Dubois has stated she wants whoever comes out on top from this bout in 2027.

On the undercard at College Park Center, Ramla Ali claimed a split decision win over Mikiah Kreps in a super bantamweight title fight.