Alycia Baumgardner: From Eddie Hearn to Jake Paul, the Mikaela Mayer Beef & Her 135-Pound Title Shot

Undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner sits down with Andre Ward on THE ART OF WARD just days out from her lightweight debut. She takes it back to a two-bedroom house in Fremont, Ohio, and growing up in a small town knowing she wanted to be ‘great at something’. Then the climb: $800 purses, one fight for free, and stopping Terri Harper on five weeks’ notice in Harper’s hometown.

She also gets into the Mikaela Mayer beef, the positive test that kept her out 14 months, and the more than $100,000 she spent to clear her name. Plus why she left Eddie Hearn for Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, what happened with Claressa Shields, and why she says Caroline Dubois avoided this fight.

Catch Alycia Baumgardner Sunday, November 8th as she takes on lightweight world champion Elif Nur Turhan on MVPW-07, live on ESPN.

Follow Andre Ward – https://www.instagram.com/andresogward/
Follow Alycia Baumgardner – https://www.instagram.com/alyciabaumgardner

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0:00 Intro: Alycia Baumgardner Before Her ESPN Main Event
2:05 Growing Up in Fremont, Ohio
7:27 From Wrestling to Boxing
11:37 Why Derrick James & Refusing to Stay Stagnant
19:21 Finding Out About Her Biological Father
20:44 The First Photo She Saw of Him Was From Prison
29:45 Turning Pro
33:00 $800 Purses & Fighting for Free
34:04 Jake Paul & Women’s Boxing
37:36 Her First Loss
40:58 Losing Her Grandmother & Getting the Call for a World Title Fight
42:35 Beating Terri Harper in the UK
46:41 The Mikaela Mayer Beef
50:15 Learning the Business the Hard Way
54:05 The Positive Test & Spending $100K to Clear Her Name
59:15 Leaving Eddie Hearn for MVP
1:04:12 Special Forces in the Malaysian Jungle
1:10:00 What Happened With Claressa Shields
1:11:51 Laila Ali’s Support
1:15:01 Lightweight Debut on ESPN
1:15:20 Why Caroline Dubois Avoided This Fight

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Want to listen via Audio?
Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-art-of-ward/id1767454006
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/2zgtdAGaqvrEJza1c0RdvL?si=a94a7b4be17542e0

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