Another undisputed championship clash is potentially in store.

The WBA has once again taken the initiative to order a fight between reigning champions, as part of its One Boxing project committed to creating a single champion per weight division. The focus has been placed on the women’s junior lightweight division as the sanctioning body formally called for its long-reigning WBA 130-pound titlist Hyun Mi Choi to enter talks with lineal/WBC/IBF/WBO champ Alycia Baumgardner.

“The World Boxing Association (WBA), through its Championships Committee, ordered the bout between super featherweight champion Hyun Mi Choi and American Alycia Baumgardner, owner of the WBC, IBF and WBO belts,” the WBA announced Tuesday. “The WBA has put all its efforts in the One Boxing project, which seeks to give the possibility to the champions to unify their crowns and in this case, after an analysis, it was determined that there is no impediment for the champion of the pioneer organization to face the American for the undisputed 130 lbs. title. 

“The Committee placed Baumgardner as the mandatory challenger and now the teams of both fighters will have a period of 30 days to negotiate the fight and reach an agreement. If the fight does not take place within the period granted or in the event that either party refuses to sign the contract, the committee may order a Purse Bid with a 50% split for each of the champions. This decision renders any previous ruling null and void.”

Baumgardner is co-promoted by Matchroom Boxing and Kings Promotion. Choi’s primary promoter is Paco Damian of Paco Presents.

The order comes in lieu of either boxer being presented with a mandatory challenger. In this case, the same fighter happened to stand in the way of both, as former WBC lightweight titlist Delfine Persoon is a double mandatory with the WBA and the WBC.

Instead, Baumgardner and Choi will look to each other for a bout that was previously in discussion and now back in play.

Baumgardner (13-1, 7KOs) unified the WBC/IBF/WBO titles and established true championship lineage at junior lightweight following her split decision win over Mikaela Mayer on October 15 at The O2 in London. Baumgardner—who lives and trains in the greater Detroit area—made the second successful defense of her WBC title with the win while claiming the IBF/WBO belts and handing the first career defeat to Mayer in their long-awaited grudge match.

The order by the WBA comes just two days after Baumgardner celebrated the one-year anniversary of her WBC title reign. She won the belt in a spectacular one-punch, fourth round knockout of unbeaten champ Terri Harper last November 13 on the road in Sheffield, England. The feat was honored by BoxingScene.com as the 2021 Female Knockout of the Year, and with Baumgardner—who is promoted by Marshall Kaufmann’s Kings Promotions—landing a lucrative co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing.

Choi (20-0-1, 5KOs) presently serves as the longest reigning titlist in the sport, though the two-division and reigning WBA 130-pound titlist has drawn industry-wide scorn for her soft level of opposition and avoiding the tough fights.

There were previously talks in place for a Baumgardner-Choi WBC/WBA unification bout, only for Choi’s side to head in another direction. It led to Baumgardner instead going to Mayer first and now revisiting plans for all the belts.

Choi previously held the WBA featherweight title, winning the vacant belt in her October 2008 pro debut. Seven title defenses followed before moving up to 130, where Choi claimed the interim WBA title.

The reign was since upgraded to the full WBA belt, which she has successfully defended ten times. In her most recent outing, the 31-year-old Choi—whose family defected from North Korea in 2004 and eventually made their way to Seoul, South Korea—outpointed Edmonton’s Vanessa Bradford over ten rounds on October 18 in Seoul.

Choi was previously aligned with Matchroom Boxing but only officially fought under the company’s banner one time—a December 2020 ten-round win over Calista Silgado in Hollywood, Florida. The balance of her career has taken place in her adopted home region in South Korea.

Baumgardner’s entire title reign has taken place in the United Kingdom, having not fought in the U.S since last August preceding her first major title fight.

The proposed undisputed clash comes on the heels of the WBA launching its One Boxing project with its ordered Amanda Serrano-Erika Cruz featherweight championship showdown. Serrano (43-2-1, 30KOs)—a 34-year-young Puerto Rican southpaw based out of Brooklyn, New York—has held titles in a record seven weight divisions and holds the lineal/WBC/IBF/WBO featherweight titles. The WBA belt belongs to Mexico City’s Cruz, who was instructed to enter talks with Serrano shortly after her repeat win over former champ Jelena Mrdjenovich in September.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox