On November 14, Canadian Leila Beaudoin is putting all her eggs in one basket and wants to wrest her super featherweight world championship belt from superstar Alycia Baumgardner. An audience of millions will be there.
Patience, coupled with a recent spectacular victory for Leila Beaudoin, has finally paid off. On November 14, the fighter from Levis, Quebec (Canada), will face super featherweight world champion Alycia Baumgardner in front of millions of Netflix subscribers. The duel will take place on the undercard of the show fight between Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis at the Kaseya Center in Miami (USA).
“I will show the whole world”
“I’ve been saying since the beginning of the year that I want to fight Alycia Baumgardner,” explained Beaudoin. The tough athlete, who used to ski race and came to boxing in 2013, is full of self-confidence: “I’ve said it so many times that it’s come true. And now we’re here! On November 14, I’m going to show the whole world that I can beat them.”
At 29, Leila Beaudoin (13-1, 2 knockouts) is in top form. The Canadian suffered her only defeat in 2023 in a controversial decision against Elizabeth Chavez. Six months later, she won a rematch against the Mexican by unanimous decision on points. Beaudoin recently won the “WBO International” featherweight title when she clearly defeated former world champion Lizbeth Crespo. In June last year, the fighter from the Canadian “Eye Of The Tiger” (EOTTM) stable then delivered the best performance of her career: Beaudoin stopped former champion Elhem Mekhaled from France in the 6th round.
“Leila has been dreaming of a fight like this for some time,” says her coach Samuel Decarie-Drolet in the run-up to the duel with Baumgardner. “In my opinion, the reason for this is quite simple: she has done everything she can to make it happen. And she has everything she needs to win.” Remarkable: the fight between Beaudoin and Baumgardner is scheduled for twelve rounds of three minutes each, just like the men’s bout. A distance that only a few top international female boxers have recently completed in the ring.
Ohio native Alycia Baumgardner (16-1, 7 knockouts) will defend her world championship belts for the seventh time. The US-American first won the IBO and WBC titles when she defeated Terri Harper in 2021. “The Bomb” then added the IBF and WBO belts to her impressive collection in 2022 after defeating Mikaela Mayer by split decision.
Baumgardner without WBC belt
Baumgardner then also secured the WBA title in a fight against Elhem Mekhaled. Most recently, in July, the fighter from the stable of Jake Paul’s “Most Valuable Promotions” inflicted her first defeat on the Spaniard Jennifer Miranda. After Baumgardner completed her Undisputed winning streak, she relinquished her WBC belt ahead of the upcoming fight against Beaudoin.
“Leila has not only shown us that she is ready to move up to the highest level, but also that she has the fire in her to succeed there,” praises EOTTM boss Camille Estephan. “The biggest challenge now lies ahead of her. But I have no doubt that she will make us proud on November 14.”
Text: Frank Schwantes