Mikaela Mayer claimed the WBO welterweight title after a clash with Sandy Ryan, riddled with pre-fight controversy.
The former unified super featherweight titleholder defeated Ryan via majority decision at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Tensions were high leading up to the fight, with Mayer accusing Ryan of poaching her longtime training team – a claim Ryan denied.
A further incident saw Ryan have red paint thrown on her as she left the hotel for the fight. To her credit, Ryan continued with the clash.
The animosity carried into the ring with intense exchanges throughout the fight.
After ten two-minute rounds, Mayer recovered from her defeat to Tasha Jones via scores of 97-93 and 96-94. A third judge 95-95 draw.
Following her latest win, Mayer said, “It was similar to how I thought it would go. I always said before that I respected Sandy as a boxer. She has a big pedigree, just like me, but I knew I would beat her to the punch. I knew I was faster. I knew I was sharper. And that’s exactly what I did.
“I picked it up halfway through the fight like I always do. I always turn it on in that second half of the fight. And she couldn’t handle my timing. So, I felt like I won the fight, and I’m just glad I got the right decision this time.
“I want to finish what I started and go undisputed. I came very close at junior lightweight. But my body outgrew that weight. I’m comfortable now. I feel like I’m stronger than ever. I’m still in my prime, as you can see. So I’m coming for the other champions.”
Sandy Ryan’s red paint incident a ‘set-up’
In her post-fight interview, Ryan mentioned the paint incident and said she believed it wasn’t a coincidence.
“I’m obviously disappointed. I’m not taking anything away from the decision. But before coming to the venue, I don’t know if you guys saw it, but I had a hit-and-run [with paint outside the hotel]. And that was definitely set up. I’m not taking anything away from the win, but it unsettled me.
“It threw me off a bit of my game plan because I just wanted to fight. And you saw at the start of the fight, I was handling her quite well on the jab. I was boxing her. Then I started to pick it up. But then, I was obviously pushing it too hard.
“It’s nice to fight in America again. But I just don’t like the circumstances that happened to me before the fight. But I can’t take anything away from that. It is what it is.”
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