Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2 Fight Card, Predictions, & Odds

A familiar foe stands in the way of reigning undisputed super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner (14-1) this Saturday, July 15, as she defends her throne against Christina Linardatou (14-2) in front of her home crowd inside the Masonic Temple in Detroit. Baumgardner will put all her 130-pound titles on the line against Linardatou, who defeated her in their first meeting in July 2018 via a split decision.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙𝗙 👀@alyciambaum vs @MambaChristina 🔥#BaumgardnerLinardatou2 live on @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/lVQZAFpBoA

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 11, 2023

That loss to Linardatou didn’t hinder Baumgarder’s role in BetMGM’s online sportsbook as the heavy betting favorite at -1000 against her former tormentor, who takes on the overwhelming underdog role at +600. “The Bomb’s” current four straight title wins, and the backing of the home fans in Detroit were the primary reasons oddsmakers favored her to get a revenge victory against “Medusa.”

Alycia Baumgardner Recent Fight Results

Alycia Baumgardner started her pro boxing career in March 2017 and beat Britain Hart by first-round TKO. She collected three more stoppage wins before fighting Nydia Feliciano in February 2018 for the vacant WBC International Super Featherweight title. The 29-year-old unanimously defeated Feliciano to win her first boxing title. However, five months later, Baumgardner yielded the belt to Linardatou via a split decision loss.

Following this lone loss, “The Bomb” rebounded with four successive victories to claw her way back to title contention. In November 2021, Baumgardner defeated Terri Harper to win the IBO and WBC World Super Featherweight titles. She was able to fend off the challenge from Edith Matthysse in April 2022 before unifying all the belts with wins over Mikaela Mayer and Elhem Mekhaled.

If you get in the ring with @alyciambaum, be prepared to get hurt. 😤#BaumgardnerLinardatou2 is LIVE on DAZN, July 15 pic.twitter.com/SrRczdsFQV

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 12, 2023

Christina Linardatou Recent Fight Results

Christina Linardatou is a boxer born in the Dominican Republic and now resides in Greece. She started fighting in the paid ranks in 2014 and quickly accumulated eight wins. Because of that impressive streak, “Medusa” earned her first title opportunity in June 2016, when she challenged Delfine Persoon for the WBC World Lightweight title. However, she came up short and received a unanimous decision loss.

After that tough loss, the 35-year-old racked up four straight wins to capture the WBC International Super Featherweight and WBO Super Lightweight titles against Baumgardner and Kandi Wyatt. Her reign as the super lightweight champion was short-lived as Katie Taylor handed Linardatou a unanimous decision loss in November 2019. Since that second career setback, Linardatou scored back-to-back wins.

Who is Christina Linardatou?

… she's a beast! 💪#BaumgardnerLinardatou2 is LIVE on DAZN, July 15

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 12, 2023

Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2: Tale of the Tape

Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2: Fight Analysis

Like their first meeting, Alycia Baumgardner will have two inches of height and reach advantage against Christina Linardatou, as she stands at 5-foot-6 with 66 inches of reach versus Linardatou’s height at 5-foot-4 and reach of 64 inches. Both have 14 wins on their record, but the defending champion has a slightly better record of only one loss than the challenger, who already has two.

The same slightly better number continues for Baumgardner in the finishing rate, as she flexes a 50% TKO/KO percentage against Linardatou’s 43%. In their first meeting in July 2018, Baumgardner and Linardatou ended up in a back-and-forth war inside the ring. They displayed all-out action throughout eight rounds, ultimately leading to a close split decision win for Linardatou.

“Medusa” was successful in their first fight because of her constant pressure that overwhelmed “The Bomber.” Through this pressure, Linardatou was able to set up her combinations. The Dominican-Greek boxer also employed a stance-switching fighting style, where she alternately fought in orthodox and southpaw during the match.

This approach gave problems to Baumgardner because she was always getting clipped and caught with a right hand, either by straight punches, hooks, or counters. Baumgardner also had moments in that fight where she was able to throw several counters against Linardatou’s attack. Also, she mostly did damage at close range by targeting the body.

Five years later, Baumgardner has improved and sharpened her fighting style, which was key to becoming the undisputed queen of the super featherweight division. The Detroit-based boxer now uses more jabs to pressure her opponents and uses her footwork to move from side to side, unlike the version of Baumgardner in 2018, where she was flat-footed and rarely threw a jab.

It will be interesting to see if Linardatou could still bully Baumgardner with her forward pressure, but knowing that the defending champion utilizes her footwork now, it will be difficult for the challenger to replicate that phase in their first meeting. Additionally, Baumgardner’s jabs should play a key role in this upcoming rematch, as it will keep her distance against Linardatou and fight on the outside to maximize her reach advantage.

Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2: Date and Start Time

July 15, 2023, 8 p.m. PT

July 15, 2023, 10 p.m. CT

July 15, 2023, 11 p.m. ET

Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2: Fight Prediction

Official Prediction: Unanimous decision victory for Alycia Baumgardner.

See the entire Alycia Baumgardner vs. Christina Linardatou 2 odds and wagers here.