Alycia Baumgardner Wins Mikaela Mayer Fight by Split Decision to Unify Super Featherweight Titles

Tensions were high as Alycia Baumgardner and Mikaela Mayer finally collided in a super featherweight title fight at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.

The bad blood between the two fighters had been brewing for months, and it was clear from the opening bell that they were both eager to settle their differences in the ring.

Baumgardner, who entered the fight with a record of 12-1, started quickly and used her lateral movement and boxing ability to surprise Mayer and race out to an early lead.

Mayer, who was making the first defense of her WBO title, eventually found her rhythm and began to chip away at Baumgardner's lead in the middle rounds.

But Baumgardner, to her credit, was able to regain control of the fight down the stretch and ultimately secure a split-decision victory.

The judges' scores were 96-95, 96-95 for Baumgardner, and 97-93 for Mayer. Baumgardner's victory improved her record to 13-1 and saw her add the IBF and WBO belts to her WBC championship.

"I worked my ass off to get here," Baumgardner said after the fight. "All you doubters, I told all the haters. I did that and I'm the unified champion of the world. I'm thankful and I'm blessed."

Coming into the fight, Baumgardner was known for her punching power, while Mayer was regarded as the superior boxer.

And early on, it was Baumgardner who seemed to be dictating the pace of the fight, moving around and avoiding Mayer's offense while landing several hard shots of her own.

At one point, Baumgardner even managed to cut Mayer above the forehead with a clean punch.

But Mayer slowly began to adjust to Baumgardner's style and was able to get inside and pressure her opponent.

She seemed to hurt Baumgardner with an overhand right to the head at the end of the fourth, and she continued to open up by popping Baumgardner with a jab and landing that right.

However, Baumgardner was able to manage the distance over the final three rounds and ultimately eked out a win on a historic day for women's boxing.

A total of seven titles were on the line in the final two bouts on the card.

Baumgardner, for her part, seemed confident that she had done enough to win the fight and said that she would prefer to face WBA champion Hyun Mi Choi in an attempt to unify the titles rather than give Mayer a rematch.

"I landed the cleaner shots and the harder shots," Baumgardner said. "I cut her above the forehead. I was the harder puncher."

Mayer acquitted herself well and the fight could have gone either way, but she dug herself a hole early and that proved too difficult for her to overcome.