Alycia Baumgardner isn’t worried that Mikaela Mayer is underestimating her.
Baumgardner, the 28-year-old Michigan native and WBC women’s junior lightweight champion, is confident her ability to think on the fly will separate her from Mayer, the Southern Californian who holds the IBF and WBO titles. .
Baumgardner and Mayer will square off in a 130-pound unification fight on September 10 at London’s O2 Arena on the undercard of the undisputed Claressa Shields-Savannah Marshall women’s middleweight title fight.
Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) and Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) have been trading words all summer, and in a recent interview, Michigander took issue with Mayer’s belief that Baumgardner is a one-man pony. trick. Mayer has repeatedly said that the only way to win from Baumgardner is to land a right hand from him.
In turn, Baumgardner suggested that the 32-year-old Mayer is too reliant on his trainer, Al Mitchell.
“Not many people have seen me in these high caliber fights,” Baumgardner told Tha Boxing Voice. “So when you see me, you have to make adjustments. I have everything. Check all the boxes. So for her to have this mentality that I’m a one-dimensional fighter is completely wrong. But I’ll let her think that, because on the night of the fight, she’ll understand that she’s there with a dog.
“She can’t make adjustments on her own. She relies on her coach to make adjustments for her. So I know that her technique is not good, her skill level is not as good as mine.”
Baumgardner burst onto the boxing scene when she knocked out Terri Harper in the fourth round, courtesy of a right hand, last November in Sheffield, England, to win the WBC 130-pound title. For Baumgardner, the moment redeemed years of toiling in the gym in relative obscurity, despite Mayer’s frequent comments suggesting otherwise.
“This girl is arrogant for one,” Baumgardner said. She is pampered. She doesn’t know what humble means. That she thinks I just got out of the woodwork is funny, it’s comical, because I’ve been grinding to the top of the fucking top for a hot minute. I just haven’t had the spotlight.
“And that’s fine with me, because the story is just sweeter. Because who is Alycia Baumgardner? Obviously I showed who I was in the Terry Harper fight, and for those who don’t know yet, I’ll continue to show it.”
