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A Closer Look at Mikaela Mayer on the Hunt for a World Title in Liverpool
It was unusually quiet inside the DLX boxing gym in Las Vegas on this particular Monday, notwithstanding the early hour. The only people there aside from the fly on the wall were Mikaela Mayer, her coach Kay Koroma, Coach Kay’s assistant Manny Savoy, and former LA Raiders punter Marquette King who happens to be Mayer’s significant other. There was no loud music and no music at all for long stretches, an anomaly considering that many modern-day boxers appear constitutionally incapable of going through their paces without the accompaniment of angry rap music.
As was common knowledge among hard-core fight fans, representatives of Mikaela Mayer and IBF world welterweight title-holder Natasha Jonas were then on the verge of finalizing a deal. The formal announcement would come the next day. Mayer and Jonas will meet on Jan. 20 at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. The match will air on ESPN+ in the United States and on Sky Sports in the U.K. and Ireland.
At age 33, Mayer is six years younger, seemingly a big edge in her favor. However, the venue certainly favors Jonas who will be fighting in her hometown.
Mikaela doesn’t attach much weight to either of these variables. “I think women peak later than men,” she says. “We tend to pick up the sport later and I don’t think we take as much damage as the men.” That makes sense considering that women don’t punch quite as hard and two-minute rounds are the norm. (Editor’s Note: of the 15 female boxers rated tops in their weight class by ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, 11 are in their 30s.)
An LA native, Mikaela allows that fighting in her opponent’s backyard will be a novel experience, but points out that she too has fans across the pond. This will be her fourth straight fight in England. Two fights in London preceded her most recent assignment in Manchester. Her opponents were a fellow American (Alycia Baumgardner), a Swede (Lucy Wildheart), and an Italian (Silvia Bortot).
Mayer will be coming up in weight whereas Jonas has gone down in weight.
Mikaela won WBO and IBF world titles at 130 pounds, belts wrested away from her by Baumgardner. Natasha Jones was a unified title-holder at 154 before dropping down to welterweight to snatch a world title in a second weight division.
“I think 147 is perfect for me,” says Mayer. “As an amateur, I competed at 132. As pro, I believe I held 130 too long. I should have moved up after [Maiva] Hamadouche.” (A French policewoman, Hamadouche held the IBF version of the 130-pound title when Mayer fought her in November of 2021.)
A hot topic among fight fans today is whether women should be fighting three-minute rounds in common with their male counterparts.
On a personal level, Mayer (19-1, 5 KOs) favors the longer distance. “My style is better suited to three-minute rounds,” she says. “I’m a slow starter. I don’t knock anyone out with one punch, but with three-minute rounds I would have scored more knockouts because I tend to wear my opponents down.”
In some cases, the extra minute per round would slow down the action, making female bouts less fan-friendly. The April 2022 scorcher at Madison Square Garden between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, a watershed fight in the history of women’s boxing, might have been less if there had been more.
In Mayer’s case, an elongation would seem to be a non-issue. She has gone four-minute rounds with sparring partners. In addition to her daily work at the DLX gym, she spends some afternoons swimming laps and other afternoons working with a strength and conditioning coach at the UFC High Performance Center. If Mayer vs. Jonas wends into a fight of attrition, it’s hard to imagine Mayer being the most exhausted as the bout wends to its conclusion.
When Mikaela finds time to chill out, she has her furry friends to keep her company. Otter, age 9, Luna, age 5, and Moose, age 4, are all mixed-breed shelter dogs, rescued in inverse order of their ages; the oldest, Otter, is also the newest. The dogs won’t go to England, but when Mayer moves between her homes in Colorado Springs and Las Vegas, the dogs hop in her jeep and go with her.
Regarding her match with Baumgardner, it was extremely close. “I thought I won,” says Mayer, an opinion shared by British judge Terry O’Connor. He had it 97-93 but was out-ruled by his comrades, each of whom had Baumgardner edging it by a single point.
There was a clamor for a rematch, but Mikaela no longer has any interest in pursuing it, and not only because she is moving up in weight.
In August, Baumgardner’s promotional company, Matchroom, revealed that Baumgardner had tested positive for two banned acetate metabolites leading up to her July 15 match with Christine Linardatou. Baumgardner vehemently denies it and has offered up evidence to the contrary from an independent testing bureau, but the smirch isn’t going away.
“That will be her legacy. Now she needs me more than I need her,” says Mikaela who now finds it curious that there was no drug testing done prior to their bout in London.
When Mayer eventually stops fighting, she may remain in the sport as a TV analyst. On Aug. 14, 2021, Mikaela joined Crystina Poncher on the international feed of a Top Rank show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, becoming boxing’s first-ever all-female broadcasting team.
“It was challenging at first, but I have come to really like it,” she says while noting that in her amateur days she spent many hours watching tapes of boxing matches with the noted trainer Al Mitchell who hued her into an Olympian and has been a presence in her corner since her very first professional fight. In hindsight, those sessions in front of the TV were tutorials that made her sensitive to nuances that might not be apparent to the average viewer. Plus, she’s very well-spoken. ”Mikaela is a natural behind the microphone,” says Top Rank honcho Bob Arum.
If Mikaela gets by Jonas, she may get to fight the winner of Saturday’s rematch in Dublin between Katie Taylor and Chantelle Cameron. This match is being contested at 140, but there’s a general feeling that one or both of these ladies will continue their careers as a welterweight. Mayer alludes to this fact when she says, “In my mind, 147 is the next big weight class for women’s boxing.”
Stay tuned.
Arne K. Lang is a recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling. His latest book, titled Clash of the Little Giants: George Dixon, Terry McGovern, and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910, was released by McFarland in September, 2022.
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LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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