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Alycia Baumgardner (17-1, 7 KOs), one of the sport’s biggest stars, successfully defended her WBO, IBF and WBA junior lightweight titles with a wide unanimous decision over Leila Beaudoin in a contest held under men’s championship rules with 12 rounds of three minutes each. The 31-year-old Ohio native, who rose to prominence by stopping Terri Harper in 2021 before unifying all four belts to become undisputed champion in 2023, repeatedly punished Beaudoin with body shots and finally dropped her with a right hook to the temple at the bell that ended the seventh round.
Beaudoin (13-2, 2 KOs), a former alpine skier from Canada who took up boxing as part of her cardiovascular training and turned professional in 2019, showed durability and ambition but was outmatched by Baumgardner’s movement and power, particularly in the later rounds as her visible frustration mounted. The judges’ scores of 117-110 (twice) and 118-109 matched the action.
“I give myself an A-plus,” said Baumgardner, who outscored his opponent by a margin of 158-98 according to Compubox striking statistics.
Caroline Dubois, the 24-year-old sister of British heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois, retained her WBC lightweight title in her US debut with a commanding 10-round unanimous decision over Camila Panatta. Dubois (12-0-1, 5 KOs), considered one of Britain’s most promising young professionals after representing her country at the Tokyo Olympics, found her range early and wore down her opponent with constant pressure and pinpoint precision, dropping Panatta with a right hook near the end of the sixth round.
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Panatta (8-3-1, 1 KO), an Italian southpaw based in nearby West Palm Beach who has trained extensively with elite champions such as Katie Taylor, continued to press but proved no match for the Londoner, who won by identical scores of 99-90 from the three ringside judges. It marked the third successful title defense for Dubois, who was elevated to overall world champion last year after a rapid rise through the ranks.
Australia’s Cherneka Johnson retained her undisputed bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Amanda Galle that was closer than the scores 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. Melbourne-based Johnson (19-2, 8 KOs), who made history by becoming Australia’s first undisputed four-belt champion earlier this year, forced the action from the opening bell, backing Galle with superior offense and physicality.
But Galle (12-1-1, 1 KO), a Canadian challenger with karate experience and multiple national titles, remained competitive and resilient in an exciting contest filled with two-way action. While Johnson was a deserving winner in defense of her WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF titles at 118 pounds, Galle deserved better from the judges.
Earlier, Yokasta Valle upstaged a bloody majority decision over Yadira Bustillos, maintaining her WBC strawweight title by scores of 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95 in a crowd-pleasing defense-optional affair that saw both women land a combined 1,045 punches in 20 dizzying minutes.
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Valle (34-3, 10 KOs), a three-division world champion from Costa Rica and a fixture on most pound-for-pound lists, dictated the pace with quick combinations, repeatedly outboxing her opponent in the early rounds. Bustillos (11-2, 2 KOs) continued to press during a series of clashes of heads that left both women bloodied from the start, but Valle’s experience and precision helped her overcome the tape.
All four title fights appeared on a card headlined by Paul and Joshua and broadcast globally on Netflix, offering rare continuity and visibility for the women’s boxing championship in a single major promotion. While the main event attracted intense scrutiny throughout the lead-up, the card reflected a sustained investment in women’s boxing that has often been absent from the sport’s biggest platforms.
Paul, through her four-year-old company Most Valuable Promotions, has made women’s boxing a central feature of her events, recruiting elite fighters and securing top billing on major stages, including the historic trilogy between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. Friday’s card at the NBA’s 20,000-capacity Miami Heat headquarters continued that pattern, with the women’s quartet’s title fights promoted alongside one of the most commercialized boxing events of the year.