TV Picks of The Week: Three women’s world title fights lead the way on Friday and Saturday

A trio of women’s world title fights are the main headliners for this week’s action, including two on Friday — Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon for the WBC junior lightweight belt, Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer for the WBO welterweight belt — as well as Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper on Saturday for the WBO lightweight belt.

Let’s look at those fights, and much more, in this week’s TV picks.

Friday, September 27: Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer (ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+)

The main broadcast begins at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time (3:30 a.m. BST). A preliminary undercard is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. BST).

Sandy Ryan owns one welterweight title but very well could have been the lineal champion too.

The 31-year-old from Derby, England, had picked up the vacant WBO belt in April 2023 after it was stripped from Jessica McCaskill. Five months later, Ryan challenged lineal champ McCaskill and fought her way to a split draw, though some felt Ryan deserved the victory. McCaskill has since lost her throne to Lauren Price. And a number of 147-pounders are now vying to be queen.

Ryan is among them. She stopped Terri Harper this March to move to 7-1-1 (3 KOs), with that lone loss coming in 2022, in Ryan’s fourth professional fight, via split decision to Erica Anabella Farias. Ryan won an immediate rematch with Farias via unanimous decision.

Mayer, a 34-year-old from the United States, is 19-2 (5 KOs). She turned pro after competing in the 2016 Olympics and went on to become a unified titleholder at junior lightweight. After losing to Alycia Baumgardner in a 2022 fight for three world titles at 130, Mayer moved up in weight. She made one appearance apiece at lightweight (a decision over Lucy Wildheart) and junior welterweight (a points win over Silvia Bortot).

This January, Mayer arrived at welterweight and lost a split decision to IBF titleholder Natasha Jonas. This will be Mayer’s second shot at a belt at 147.

The main undercard at the Madison Square Garden Theater will feature Xander Zayas and Bruce Carrington in separate fights.

Zayas is a junior middleweight prospect originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now living in Sunrise, Florida. He signed with Top Rank at 16, turned pro a bit after his 17th birthday and now, at the age of 22, is 19-0 (12 KOs). In June, he won a wide decision over Patrick Teixeira.

Zayas will face Damian Sosa, a 27-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico, who is 25-2 (12 KOs). Sosa lost a unanimous decision to the 31-14-4 Ivan Alvarez in April 2023 but has won three in a row since, including a split decision in April over previously unbeaten Marques Valle.

Carrington is a featherweight with a record of 12-0 (8 KOs). This will be his third fight of 2024. The 27-year-old Brooklynite knocked out Bernard Angelo Torres in four rounds in February and Brayan De Gracia in eight rounds in June. This will be Carrington’s third consecutive fight at this arena — will his streak continue?

Standing in his way is Sulaiman Segawa, a 33-year-old originally from Kampala, Uganda, and now living just outside of Washington, D.C. Segawa is 17-4-1 (6 KOs) and has also been active this year, losing a decision to Mirco Cuello in March and then scoring a big decision win over Ruben Villa in July.

Friday, September 27: Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon (Brinx.TV and Fubo Sports)

The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. BST).

Although Baumgardner surprisingly remains the undisputed junior lightweight champion — more on that in a moment — this fight is only for her WBC world title and the lineal championship. It takes place at Trilith Studios Town Stage in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Baumgardner, a 30-year-old from Detroit, picked up that WBC belt in 2021, stopping Terri Harper in four rounds. After a shutout win over Edith Soledad Matthysse, Baumgardner earned two more titles with a split decision victory against Mikaela Mayer in October 2022. Less than four months later, Baumgardner was the undisputed champion, outpointing Elhem Mekhaled to add the vacant WBA belt to her collection.

Then came controversy.

In July 2023, Baumgardner won a unanimous decision in a rematch with Christina Linardatou, avenging a split decision loss to Linardatou back in 2018. But Baumgardner tested positive afterward for a banned substance.

She hasn’t fought since. The WBC declared that Baumgardner didn’t use that substance intentionally. The other sanctioning bodies (IBF, WBA and WBO) still have Baumgardner as their titleholder. The result wasn’t overturned by Michigan’s boxing commission, so Baumgardner remains 15-1 (7 KOs).

Persoon, a 39-year-old from Belgium, is 49-3 (19 KOs). She was long a lightweight, holding major world titles at 135 in 2012 and then from 2014 through 2019. Persoon made nine successful defenses before losing a close majority decision to Katie Taylor in a fight for the undisputed championship. Their rematch came 14 months later, in August 2020, and this time Taylor won unanimously.

Persoon has gone 5-0 since, all at junior lightweight, with one no contest that very well could’ve been ruled a disqualification loss, as Persoon punched a downed Ikram Kerwat.

Per BoxRec, this show’s undercard exclusively spotlights women boxers, with eight bouts scheduled in support.

Friday, September 27: Charlie Edwards vs. Thomas Essomba (Channel 5)

The broadcast begins at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (10 p.m. BST).

This fight at York Hall in London is between a former flyweight titleholder in Charlie Edwards and Essomba, who is managed by a former flyweight titleholder in Sunny Edwards — Charlie’s younger brother.

Charlie outpointed Cristofer Rosales for the WBC belt in 2018. Two fights later, he was dropped in the third round by Julio Cesar Martinez and then struck again while on the canvas. Martinez was originally ruled the winner, but that result was ultimately overturned. Charlie soon vacated his belt, saying he was unable to make the 112-pound limit anymore.

Indeed, he’s competed mostly at bantamweight ever since. Four wins have brought the 31-year-old from Surrey, England, to 19-1 (7 KOs).

Essomba is a 36-year-old originally from Cameroon and now fighting out of Sheffield, England. He is 13-8-1 (4 KOs), with one of those defeats coming against Sunny Edwards in 2020. Essomba has gone 3-2-1 since, including a split decision this February over the 14-1 Elie Konki.

Friday, September 27: Shakiel Thompson vs. River Wilson-Bent (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST).

Thompson (12-0, 8 KOs) is a middleweight prospect from Sheffield, England, who will be performing in his hometown at the Park Community Arena. This is the third fight of 2024 for the 27-year-old. In February, he stopped 11-5-3 Gino Kanters in three rounds, then returned in April with an eighth-round knockout of 12-3 Vladimir Georgiev.

Wilson-Bent, a 30-year-old from Coventry, England, is 17-4-2 (7 KOs) who could be a decent test for Thompson. Wilson-Bent has been in there with a number of recognizable names, fighting to a technical draw with Tyler Denny in 2021, losing a rematch to Denny via split decision in 2022, stopped in two rounds by Hamzah Sheeraz in 2022, stopped in eight by Austin “Ammo” Williams in 2023, and outpointed by Ryan Kelly last October. Wilson-Bent has gone 2-0-1 since against nondescript opposition.

Saturday, September 28: Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST).

Dixon vs. Harper became the main event after two separate fights fell through due to injuries. 

Junior welterweight prospect Dalton Smith had to pull out of a bout with Jon Fernandez that was to take place at Utilita Arena Sheffield. Then the new headliner, heavyweight Johnny Fisher, got hurt and couldn’t go forward with his bout against Andriy Rudenko at the Copper Box Arena in London.

So we’re back in Sheffield, at the Park Community Arena, for Dixon vs. Harper. 

The 29-year-old Dixon (10-0, 1 KO) picked up the vacant WBO lightweight belt in April with a unanimous decision over Karen Elizabeth Carbajal. 

The 27-year-old Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs), is a former junior lightweight titleholder who fought to a draw with Natasha Jonas in their 2020 war and was stopped by Alycia Baumgardner in 2021. She then went up to junior middleweight and won the WBA belt from Hannah Rankin in 2022, fought to a draw with Cecilia Braekhus with the vacant WBO title on the line in 2023, and was stopped in four rounds by WBO welterweight titleholder Sandy Ryan this March.

Saturday, September 28: Ardian Krasniqi vs. Saul Ivan Male (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at noon Eastern Time (5 p.m. BST).

Krasniqi is a light heavyweight prospect from Rottweil, Germany, who will be headlining up the road at the Ludwigsburg MHP Arena. The 28-year-old is 9-0 (9 KOs) and has only ever faced one foe who had won more fights than he’d lost, scoring a first-round KO of the 15-10 Denis Altz in September 2023.

Male will be the second such opponent. The 30-year-old is 10-1-1 (1 KO). This will be Male’s first fight outside of Uganda. Most recently, he outpointed the 3-0-1 Stephen Nyamhanga in April.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.