Elif Nur Turhan marched forward all night, only to walk into Alycia Baumgardner’s counters. Making her lightweight debut in Arlington, Texas, the former undisputed super featherweight champion captured the IBF 135-pound title on Sunday, sweeping every card 100-90.

Turhan wanted her looping overhand right to keep Baumgardner pinned down. Instead, the reach required to launch it created openings. Baumgardner popped her jab, used subtle footwork, and timed counters while the champion reset after missing wildly. Round after round, Turhan pushed the action but absorbed cleaner shots than she landed.

The defending titleholder looked sharpest when tightening her punches. In round nine, she connected with hooks inside alongside crisp uppercuts, showing her power when working in tight. Baumgardner took the contact calmly, circled out, and went right back behind the jab. Whenever Turhan found success, she had to rebuild that distance immediately.

Turhan kept up the pursuit throughout the tenth. Ten three-minute rounds offered ample opportunity to capitalize if Baumgardner faded, yet the challenger stayed disciplined. While Turhan had sporadic bursts, the scorecards reflected complete control. Finding Baumgardner with a single punch was hard enough; stringing combinations together proved impossible.

The victory came at College Park Center. A potential unification clash with Caroline Dubois promises vastly different tactical challenges at 135. Against Turhan, Baumgardner simply let the pressure roll in, converting reckless forward movement into decisive offense.

Skye Nicolson Outboxes Yoshida to Keep WBC Belt

Skye Nicolson controlled Miyo Yoshida with crisp lead rights and superior reach, capturing a wide unanimous decision to defend her WBC super bantamweight crown. The judges turned in scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 for Nicolson after ten rounds without a knockdown.

Yoshida opened with sharp right hands, but Nicolson met that early pressure with straight lefts and body work. By round three, the Australian southpaw began timing the challenger with check rights whenever Yoshida stepped into the pocket. Yoshida forced trades occasionally, yet she had to navigate a stiff jab each time Nicolson pivoted away.

Nicolson blunted the challenger’s best runs in the fourth and fifth. Yoshida trapped her briefly during a fourth-round rally, but Nicolson responded with a counter right before wrapping her up. In the fifth, Nicolson stepped around the attack, took the center of the ring, and clipped Yoshida along the ropes with a clean right hook.

The 38-year-old Yoshida, already a former titlist at junior bantamweight and bantamweight, aimed to become a three-division champion. She scored effectively in close quarters during rounds six and seven, digging short rights inside. Holding Nicolson in the clinch was the real struggle. As soon as space opened, Nicolson punished her from range, forcing Yoshida to restart her march forward.

Yoshida kept pressing through the final round, but Nicolson threaded sharp uppercuts into combinations to seal her first defense as full WBC 122-pound champion. Their initial August date had fallen through because of an injury, yet the dominant showing keeps Nicolson on track for a potential division unification.

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