Rivals Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano fit the bill perfectly. Despite calling for those matchups, they never took place.

Taylor retired after scoring a lopsided unanimous-decision win over Flora Pili on September 5 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Serrano plans on walking off into the sunset after her January 9 bout against Skye Falzon in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

‘Baumgardner believes wins over those future first-ballot Hall of Famers would’ve taken her brand to another level. Even though those fights failed to happen, Baumgardner feels as though she became the unquestioned face of women’s boxing.

“I didn’t need to be passed the torch – I took it,” Baumgardner told ESPN during a recent interview. “Obviously, those fights didn’t happen, so I have to take it into my own hands. I'm taking the torch. I snatched it. Now, we’re just building the stage for Alycia Baumgardner."

That building stage will hit a roadblock if she doesn’t win her next bout.

Baumgardner (18-1, 7 KOs, 1 NC) will make her 135-pound debut Sunday night when she takes on hard-hitting IBF lightweight champion Elif Nur Turhan. ESPN will televise their 10-round main event from College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

The 32-year-old Baumgardner, a former undisputed 130-pound champion, is listed by DraftKings as a 6-1 favorite to defeat Turhan (14-0, 8 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 1 contender for lightweight champ Caroline Dubois (14-0-1, 5 KOs).

Turkey’s Turhan, prior to winning on points in back-to-back fights, registered four consecutive knockout wins. While she clearly has fight-ending power, Baumgardner feels comfortable stepping into the fire with a dangerous opponent.

“I’m fighting against somebody that nobody wanted to fight in this division,” Baumgardner said. “It just goes to show that I’m here to take a challenge, to fight ‘the most dangerous fighter there is.’ When somebody is close to being an undisputed champion, they don’t want to take any chances. I take chances. That’s how I became undisputed [at junior lightweight], by taking chances and being an underdog.”

Nicknamed “The Bomb,” Baumgardner often brags about her own power. Despite not scoring a knockout since she stopped Terri Harper in the fourth round in November 2021, Baumgardner can’t wait to test Turhan’s chin with some of her own heavy shots.

“She’s a wild fighter,” Baumgardner said. “She’s a one-way fighter. It’s all about making her miss, making her pay. Every time she throws something wild, I’m countering something. I’m rolling under. It’s gonna be about composure, about timing, about footwork. We know that Nur Turhan gets hit. Can she take my punch?”