NEW YORK — Alycia Baumgardner retained her WBO, IBF and WBA junior lightweight titles by unanimous decision over Bo Mi Re Shin at the Theater at Madison Square Garden early Saturday morning. The judges scored the bout 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91.

The contest was a headline 10-round fight contested under men's championship rules with three-minute rounds, and served as Baumgardner's sixth title defense in the 130-pound division. Baumgardner, a 31-year-old Ohio native who fights out of Dallas under trainer Derrick James, has held at least one junior lightweight title belt since 2021.

The bout was the headline fight on the first U.S. card staged by Most Valuable Promotions Women, a women's boxing platform launched by boxer-influencer Jake Paul. Baumgardner walked to the ring at around half past midnight accompanied by Lil' Kim.

Baumgardner won the first five rounds on the judges' scorecards before Shin took the sixth. In the seventh, Shin landed more punches and briefly unsettled Baumgardner before the champion regained control. Baumgardner landed clean counterpunches in the ninth to reassert herself, and both fighters exchanged punches in the center of the ring in the tenth before the final bell.

"All I knew was I had to stay consistent with my jab and keep setting things up. Bo was going to come regardless, so it was up to me to set the pace and land my shots," Baumgardner said. She also addressed the physical demands of fighting under men's championship rules: "Three-minute rounds, 10 rounds, on my period. Baby, stop playing with me."

Baumgardner said she would like to fight Katie Taylor next, and would consider a matchup with Amanda Serrano if a fight with Taylor could not be made. "I'm ready to step up again. I'm doing a different level of work. I deserve the biggest fights and the biggest paydays," she said.