Mikaela Mayer came out victorious on March 29 when she faced Sandy Ryan in a rematch at the Bleaulive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The pair ran it back following their first fight held last September in New York, where Mayer dethroned Ryan by majority decision to become the new WBO welterweight champion.
The scheduled 10-round championship rematch also went the full distance. Mayer put on an explosive performance, delivering fast punches and combinations to secure the victory by unanimous decision. After 10 rounds, two judges scored the fight 97-93 and one judge scored it 98-92, all in favor of the representative of the host country.
Colorado Springs-based two-division champion Mikaela Mayer made the first successful defense of her WBO 147-pound title. The native of Woodland Hills, California, improved to 21-2, 5 KOs and earned her second win in a row. Post-fight, the 34-year-old stated that she wants to become the undisputed champion and called out Britain’s Lauren Price, who holds the division’s unified IBF, WBA, and WBC belts.
“I sat on my shots more and committed to my hooks more,” Mayer said. “Those hooks were coming over the top. Sandy tends to stand straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.”
“I had been needing to move to welterweight for a long time. So, when I finally did, it just took a good, solid year and a half of hard work. This is where I’m comfortable, and this is where I should have been.”
“I beat Sandy Ryan twice. Now it’s time for me to move on and go for undisputed, which is against Lauren Price.”
Sandy Ryan of Derby, England, didn’t succeed in her attempt to take revenge and reclaim the title. The 31-year-old dropped to 7-3-1, 3 KOs and suffered her second straight defeat.