When Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner, the undisputed female super featherweight champion of the world, steps into the ring at Atlanta’s Trilith Studios on September 27, she won’t just battle Belgium’s Delfine Persoon. She’ll take a swing at boxing’s gender gap.
The event will feature the largest purse bid in the World Boxing Council’s history for a female bout, amounting to $500,000. But male boxers crossed that threshold decades ago.
We talked to the Las Vegas-based formidable fighter via video call about pay equality, her favorite places in the city and where she wants to go next.
Where are you right now? It looks like a sunny and lovely spot on a patio.
Yes, in Vegas it’s 100 degrees, so it’s doable right now. I plan to move.
Where’s your next destination?
Texas.
You’re heading to Atlanta soon to headline the all-women’s card sanctioned by the World Boxing Council. Why is this match important for you?
This fight is important because of the positioning that I’m in currently and with that came a journey of events to lead me here, and I’m just happy to be in this moment to be able to defend my title, to fight a great opponent like Delfine. She is a veteran in the sport, so this fight highlights the pedigree of who she is and also the pedigree of where I’m going.
Also, the fact that it is the largest purse bid for women in the sport’s history is a big deal. Why do you think pay equality continues to lag for female athletes?
It’s a variety of things. Representation matters, your team matters, who’s speaking for you — these things have to be in order. And oftentimes, it is on the fighter.
As a fighter and a businesswoman, I have to make sure that I have a great team supporting me, negotiating for me and keeping the fighter first. I think sometimes we get away from not representing the fighter and the talent first, and everyone just wants to put their hands in the pot. So again, just be diligent about your circle, aware as a businesswoman and make sure you’re asking the right questions.
How did you get your start in boxing?
My dad introduced boxing to me. I grew up in a small town in Ohio. We had a gym that was free for any kid to join, and it was a great opportunity for the community to come together and allow these kids to have some form of discipline and respect. Boxing taught that. Being introduced to something like that at a young age allowed me to build confidence as a young girl.
Do you have any pre-match rituals?
I would say praying. Journaling has been a really big exercise that I’ve done my whole life, writing down things to remember why I made it this far, the things I’ve been able to get through, reminders that I’m just being one with the Lord and just understanding that I’m fulfilling an assignment that is to come Friday.
You have a very rigorous workout routine, but what do you do to take care of yourself when you’re traveling?
Self-care is obviously No. 1. [Regarding] health and wellness as a woman outside the ring, I’m always making sure that I’m partaking in good things for the body. Good things for the body help with things for the mental. I make sure I’m taking my vitamins daily, drinking my water — at least a gallon a day — journaling and getting quality sleep.
When you travel, what do you pack in your carry-on?
This is girl stuff: lip gloss, perfume, eye gel patches, eye mask, maybe even a card game — I’ll throw some Uno in there — a journal, obviously you need a good pen. Some snacks. I always like the snacks, so that’s important. And a good scarf, my bonnet.
What are some of your favorite spots in Vegas?
One of my favorite restaurants is Gordon Ramsay Steak. Great food. And I love the Topgolf here because that’s always a fun place to go.
I like to be outdoors. I was able to go to one of the mountaintops — Mount Charleston. That’s a good run to do. It’s a good five-mile run up the mountain. It was nice to be in that solitude moment to be by yourself and running.
What are some of your favorite travel destinations?
I briefly went to Dubai early this year, and I thought it was an awesome country. The food was done well. The culture is great. I love Mexico because it’s just a vibe there, and great food as well.
I plan to travel again after this fight, so I would love to go to Turkey. Hot-air ballooning seems like something I would like to try. It’s really big there.
That’s fun. Is there anywhere else you want to visit aside from Turkey?
Bali, Indonesia. I would love to go to Egypt. I’d love to travel to Japan. Korea would be an awesome spot — my grandmother’s from Korea. I’d go there just to be [immersed] in the culture. Germany is also part of my heritage. I would love to go to Germany.
When you are not in the ring, what do you like to do in your free time?
Working on my brand, my juice business, shopping, hanging with friends and family. Eating is my go-to. I love to eat.
Do you gravitate to a certain cuisine?
Anything, but recently in Vegas I eat a lot of Korean food. They have a big Asian community here.
What’s a Korean restaurant you frequent in Vegas?
There is a place called Soyo. Very tasty. It was one of the first Korean spots I’ve tried since I’ve been here. And the kimchi soup tastes almost like my grandma’s, so I have to give them a 10.
What do you want people to know about you?
I want to highlight what it is to be a beauty and a beast, and what it also means to not just be prejudged by how someone looks. I think oftentimes in the social media era, we look at things just from one view.
But when people get to know who this person is behind the gloves, it builds for a better story and a better opportunity for a fan to know the fighter outside the ring and it kind of tells a story, and now you know why she’s super passionate about what she does, or maybe why she talks the way she does.
Do you think people make assumptions about you and they write you off in that way?
Absolutely. I feel like they write me off.
I would say I have the whole package when it comes to being in a combat sport and for me to be able to do modeling or even do speaking events. I think again people have this notion that a fighter should be a certain way, and I don’t fit that criterion. So, I am written off and sometimes I’m also sexualized being in a male world, and that’s also been like a struggle because you’re not taken seriously.
It’s just being strong in who you are as a woman and being confident. Be confident in what you know and continue that because somewhere along the way, someone’s going to respect it and they’re going to respect you because of the work that you put in and not because you’re a woman.
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have of you?
Maybe they think I come off cocky. I’m playing this fighter and this beauty, and [people are] like, “Oh, she just thinks she’s just all that.” In reality, I’m a cool person. I’m down-to-earth. I’m very humble.
But if there’s any sport that you would have to adopt that cockiness, it would be boxing. Isn’t a part of boxing projecting that persona and confidence so they manifest in the ring?
No, you’re completely right. You have to have confidence because, again, you’re going into war, you’re going into battle and you don’t go into a fight thinking you’re going to lose. It’s something you do have to have. But some people may not understand in-depth what boxing is, what a combat sport is.
And they may just look at it from the outside, like, “Oh, they’re just fighting.” I don’t typically fight like a “girl.” I’m a complete package fighter. I can box, I can brawl. I can do many different forms of boxing. And that’s what makes boxing the sweet science — that’s what they call it when you’re able to look good doing it. Hit and not get hit is the name of the game. So, as a woman, it’s not perceived that way. They look at women’s fights as just a brawl or they’re just crazy. No technique. I’m completely different. I have technique. I’ve been boxing since the age of eight.
You are the undisputed featherweight champion. Where do you want to go from here?
The sky’s the limit. There’s many things we can do. After this defense, I’ll be a free agent. As I talked about having the right circle, what do negotiations look like after this fight? Do we go with another promoter? What will going with another promoter look like?
It’s building the brand. I think in the social media era, it’s important that people associate who you are as a brand as well, not just “boxer.” Like, who is she outside the ring? I’m a businesswoman. I model. I do these other things. Maybe acting. There’s so many other things that I’m able to do. I’m more than just an athlete.
