Promoter Nakisa Bidarian has labelled Alycia Baumgardner the new “face of women’s boxing”, after Katie Taylor’s recent retirement and before Amanda Serrano’s impending one.

Irish icon Taylor retired with a win at Dublin’s Croke Park in September, and her great rival Serrano will follow suit in January – on home soil in Puerto Rico.

And as the sport prepares for a future without the two legends, Baumgardner can fly the flag for women’s boxing, according to Most Valuable Promotions’ (MVP) Bidarian.

“I look at it as: Katie and Amanda are the queens of women’s boxing, and they will forever be the queens,” Bidarian, who runs MVP with Jake Paul, told The Independent.

“They changed the sport because of that first fight in April of 2022. They opened up the eyes of myself and Jake and distributors to what was possible. They got fans excited and engaged in a way that most fighters, men or women, have never done.

“So, being the face doesn’t mean you’re taking over from Amanda or Katie; their legacy is cemented, and to get to their level is not going to be easy for anyone. Because it takes two to tango as well, right? Katie and Amanda made each other in many ways.

“But when I look at Alycia Baumgardner, her skillset, her desire to be great, her willingness to do three-minute rounds, her passion for taking on the best opponents possible...”

The American fighter is a former undisputed super-featherweight champion, and on Sunday, she will challenge the unbeaten Elif Nur Turhan for the IBF lightweight title.

Bidarian explained: “She could have gone to 135lb [lightweight] and said, ‘MVP, please give me one or two fights to get my feet wet in this new division.’ No, she said: ‘Bring me [WBC and WBO champion] Caroline Dubois, or bring me Elif Nur Turhan, or bring me [WBA champion] Stephanie Han.’

“And to Elif’s credit, she signed to MVP and said: ‘I want the biggest fights. Give me Alycia Baumgardner right now. Please, I want to fight with Alycia Baumgardner.’”

Baumgardner and Dubois traded words up close in August, after the Briton beat Amelia Moore. Baumgardner was ringside on commentary duties, and Dubois leant through the ropes for a verbal back-and-forth.

Dubois, 25, has repeatedly called for a fight with Baumgardner, 32, and Bidarian said: “I think it’s inevitable. I think that fight happens in the next 12 to 18 months.

“We’re willing to do it. Both fighters have said they want to do it. We just have to be logical and realistic about what the opportunity is, and hopefully it gets done.

“Alycia’s a three-minute-round fighter; Caroline’s only fought two-minute rounds. If I was in Caroline’s shoes, I’d want to try three-minute rounds, but that’s up to her.

“But the good news is: between Caroline, Stephanie and Elif, all the belts are within MVP, so I see a clear path to undisputed [for one of them]. And there’s no guarantee that Alycia gets through Elif Nur Turhan.

“If [Baumgardner loses], I’m sure Caroline is going to look at that and say: ‘I want that belt [that Nur Turhan has].’”

Dubois is undefeated like Nur Turhan, while Baumgardner has one loss on her professional record: a split decision against Christina Linardatou in 2018. Baumgardner also recorded a no-contest in 2024, when a clash of heads spoiled her fight with Delfine Persoon in the fourth round.

A greater blemish had seemingly come earlier in 2024, when Baumgardner tested positive for a banned substance and was provisionally suspended. However, two of the American’s three samples were negative, she denied any wrongdoing, and the WBC deemed her “not guilty of intentional ingestion or consumption of a banned substance for performance enhancement purposes”. Her suspension was thus lifted.