Mikaela Mayer Wins WBO World Title in Firefight with Sandy Ryan

Mikaela Mayer emerged the winner over Sandy Ryan after a furious battle to lift the WBO welterweight world title by majority-decision on Friday.

It was close.

Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) used her experience to lure England’s heavy-hitting Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) into her type of warfare in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden’s theater in New York City.

Early on Mayer used a steady jab and combination punches against the strong forward advancements of Ryan. In the first round a quick right cross rocked the British fighter briefly for just a few seconds.

Over and over Mayer timed Ryan’s charges with heavy overhand rights and uppercuts. But Ryan kept advancing.

“I was catching her coming in all the time,” explained Mayer about her strategy.

Through most of the first half of the fight Mayer kept turning Ryan with angles that nullified the British fighter’s heavy left hooks.

But Ryan found her mojo in the sixth round with a body shot and left hook around Mayer’s guard. The American fighter rallied back with combinations of her own but kept getting hit with Ryan’s left hook.

Was Mayer getting tired?

In the seventh round Mayer opened up with rapid combination punching. And when Ryan attempted to rein the American fighter into her firing zone, Mayer caught her with quicker punches that connected.

“I knew I could beat her to the punch,” said Mayer. “She couldn’t handle my timing.”

If there were any questions about Mayer’s stamina she opened up the ninth round with a six-punch combination including a right uppercut.

Knowing that a world title was at stake, both fighters opened up with volleys in the 10^th and final round trying to dominate. Ryan continued looking to blast away with the left hook and Ryan looking to connect with overhand rights or uppercuts. Both blasted away until the final bell.

One judge scored it 95-95 but two others saw it 97-93 and 96-94 for Mayer who becomes the new WBO welterweight champion.

“She’s probably the strongest fighter I’ve fought,” said Mayer who was coming off a controversial loss to Natasha Jonas in Liverpool, England.

Before the fight, it was revealed that someone threw paint on her as she was leaving her hotel.

“I was shook up,” said Ryan about fans accosting her. “It was a great fight.”

The new champion Mayer said she would not mind a rematch but intends to unify all the welterweight world titles.

“I want to be undisputed,” Mayer said.

Other Bouts

Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) soundly defeated Mexico’s Damian Sosa (25-3) using superior boxing technique over 10 rounds in a super welterweight fight between sluggers.

Zayas proved he is more than just a slugger with a technical battle that nullified Sosa’s power and aggressiveness. The fight was never in doubt despite no knockdowns in their clash. Zayas won every round on all three cards.

Brooklyn’s Bruce Carrington (13-0) out-fought Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1) in a close back-and-forth battle that ended in a majority decision victory for the fighter known as “Shu Shu.” The scores were 95-95 and 97-93 twice.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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