Alycia Baumgardner a two-division world champ after defeating Elif Nur Turhan

          • Brett OkamotoNov 9, 2026, 12:51 AM ET
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          Alycia Baumgardner became a two-division world champion on Sunday, as she handed Elif Nur Turhan her first professional defeat by unanimous decision for the IBF championship.

          Baumgardner (19-1, 7 KOs) dominated the hard-hitting Turkish champion across 10 championship rounds inside College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. All three judges scored it a perfect 100-91 shutout for Baumgardner. The victory marked Baumgardner's first world title at lightweight, following a dominant run at junior lightweight in which she held the WBO, WBA and IBF titles.

          "I am the face of women's boxing," Baumgardner said. "I stepped up. I knew she hit hard. I came out victorious and I'm thankful. It takes a lot of work to get here and I'm a two-time world champ."

          Immediately after the result, WBO lightweight champion Caroline Dubois, who was in attendance, confronted Baumgardner ringside. The two have appeared to be on a collision path since a back-and-forth in August, following Dubois's win over Amelia Moore in Birmingham, England. Dubois (14-0, 5 KOs) is scheduled for a lightweight unification bout against WBA champion Stephanie Han (13-0, 3 KOs) in February.

          "What's next is undisputed, like I did at 130 [pounds]," Baumgardner said. "[Dubois], listen, you've got a champion in front of you [in Han]."

          Baumgardner was heavily favored to defeat Nur Turhan (14-0, 8 KOs) on Sunday, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless. The 32-year-old from Fremont, Ohio beat out-classed Nur Turhan throughout, avoiding power shots and countering with jabs and right hands. She appeared to have Nur Turhan badly hurt late in the final 10 seconds of the third round, when the referee broke up the action prematurely due to confusion over the final bell.

          According to CompuBox, Baumgardner out-laned Nur Turhan in total strikes 195-to-50. In addition to dominating the fight by every metric, she also took Nur Turhan's best shots, particularly in the fifth round, proving her durability in a new weight class.

          Sunday's victory further strengthens Baumgardner's position amongst the biggest stars in female boxing. She had targeted potential fights against Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, but has since turned her focus to unifying belts at 135 pounds. She holds notable wins over Mikaela Mayer, Terri Harper and Christina Linardatou.