Alycia Baumgardner says the bigger fights in her career are still ahead of her, not the rivalry that has followed her for months. The unified junior lightweight champion told Bleacher Report she is focused on her own path as she prepares to challenge IBF lightweight champion Elif Nur Turhan on Sunday night.
That fight will headline MVPW-07 on, and it comes with a format Baumgardner has embraced before: 10 three-minute rounds. She is 18-1 with seven knockouts and unbeaten since 2019, a run that has made her one of the most consistent names in the sport.
Baumgardner did not hide what she thinks about the comparison game. She said she is in her own lane, doing her own thing and creating her own stage, and added that what makes her the face of women's boxing is how she is fighting and how she is carrying herself. The message was simple: she does not see the other name as the center of her attention.
Still, the subject will not disappear just because Baumgardner wants it gone. The rivalry has lingered long enough that her latest comments land with extra force, especially with Claressa Shields already barred from all Most Valuable Promotions events after a backstage altercation in May. Baumgardner says she has moved on, but her words show that the comparison remains part of the public story around her.
There is also a practical reason this fight matters beyond the feud. Baumgardner previously fought under 12-round men's championship rules in the co-main event of Netflix's Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua card last December, and she became just the second female unified champion in history to defend her titles under those rules. She said she loves the challenge and that three-minute rounds fit her style, but she does not expect that format to become the standard for everyone in women's boxing anytime soon.
So Sunday night is not just another title defense. It is another chance for Baumgardner to keep building the case for the way she wants to fight, even as the old rivalry continues to hover at the edge of the frame.
