Alycia Baumgardner is set to continue her reign as the women’s undisputed champion at Super Featherweight on July 15th, per Matchroom Boxing’s announcement (to whom Baumgardner is signed). This time, however, her opponent will be the only person that gave her her first loss; Christina Linardatou. The two female fighters are set to headline an event that will be held at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, where Baumgardner currently resides.
Alycia Baumgardner (14-1, 7 KO’s), 28, suffered her only loss to Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6 KO’s) by split-decision in 2018. Having only been a prospect since then, Baumgardner has improved by leaps and bounds and has solidified her talent by becoming undisputed this year in February. She is now looking to avenge her loss against Christina Linardatou who comes accredited as a former world champion herself, and is still considered a top contender in any division she competes in.
Notably, however, Christina Linardatou will have to move down two divisions from Super Lightweight to Super Featherweight in order to challenge Baumgardner, but the Greek fighter will be fighting for all of Baumgardner’s titles which could potentially see her become undisputed. Their previous fight was also at 130 lbs.
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Christina Linardatou was previously set to face Mikaela Mayer (18-1, 5 KO’s) at 135 pounds on April 15th this year, but she was forced to pull out after failing to pass her pre-match medical. While that fight was for the WBC interim title which would put the winner against undisputed women’s Lightweight champion Katie Taylor (22-1, 6 KO’s) ― who Linardatou lost to in 2019, Linardatou will have even more to win when she steps into the ring on July 15th against an opponent in Alycia Baumgardner who she defeated once before.
Also featured on the card will be American Super Lightweight contender Richardson Hitchins (16-0, 7 KO’s) who is set to pit his unbeaten record against fellow American contender Montana Love, whose last match saw him disqualified against Australian fighter Steve Spark (16-3, 14 KO’s) for throwing his Australian opponent over the ropes. 25-year old Hitchins is known to be outspoken but seems to be able to back his talk up in the ring, as proven in his last match against the same-aged countryman John Bauza (17-1, 7 KO’s) who had been undefeated prior to facing Hitchins.
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The two Americans will also be fighting for the IBF North American and USWBC Super-Lightweight titles and will engage in a twelve-round bout. As twelve-round fights are considered to be the next step towards fighting for world titles, both fighters stand to win more than just mid-tier titles if they come out on top, and they will likely be considered viable contenders if they grab a victory.
Andy Cruz, the highly-lauded Cuban Olympic gold medalist will be fighting in his first professional match after an illustrious amateur career. He will be facing Juan Carlos Burgos (35-7-3, 21 KO’s), a Mexican fighter who notably counts Keyshawn Davis (8-0, 6 KO’s) as his last opponent. Keyshawn Davis is considered to be a rival to Andy Cruz stemming back since their amateur days which saw Cruz come out on top in every contest between them, most notably their 2020 Tokyo Olympics finals match..
With a future matchup between Cruz and Davis already being teased, even more interest will be on Cruz’s debut, especially after being tipped by promoter Eddie Hearn as possibly becoming Matchroom’s ‘greatest signing’, depending on how Cruz’s professional career develops.
With Hearn having stated his intention to fast-track Andy Cruz’ career, the Cuban will meet Burgos in a ten-round bout at 135 lbs which is quite irregular for pro debutants to participate in ― unless they sport the type of amateur credentials that Cruz possesses. With Burgos ranked in the top 100 of the Lightweight division (according to BoxRec), there will be further opportunities for Cruz to quickly move up the ladder if he convincingly manages to defeat a veteran fighter like Burgos in his debut.