And The New: Mikaela Mayer Defeats Sandy Ryan

Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan put on a sizzling championship fight Friday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, the kind of fight where it’s a shame anyone has to lose.

After ten action-packed rounds, Mayer held on to win by majority decision, with scores of 97-93, 96-94, and 95-95. Mayer of Las Vegas (20-2, 5 KOs) becomes the new WBO Welterweight world champion. Ryan of Derby, England (7-2-1, 3 KOs) suffers her second loss.

“I felt like I won the fight. I’m just glad I got the right decision this time,” said a smiling Mayer.

Mayer retained the speed of a lightweight, but at welterweight, she has more punching power and is more willing to engage. In the first half of the fight, Mayer used good lateral movement to land her shots on Ryan while avoiding the worst of the incoming fire.

It took Ryan three rounds to settle in and figure out how to get to Mayer, cutting off her movement. She began landing her left hooks, among the best in women’s boxing. At times, she was able to rattle Mayer, but Mayer took the hardest of Ryan’s punches well.

Trainers Tell Their Fighters To Dig Down To Win

Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan didn't shy away from fighting on the inside. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

After round six, Ryan’s trainer Emanual Savoy told her, “You’re going to have to dig deep. I think this fight is close.”

Savoy was right. Ryan settled in and dug in. She stopped Mayer from stepping out of range to the left as she did in the first half of the fight. Mayer was eating more punches, but she responded with strong counterpunching, catching some of the incoming offense.

In Mayer’s corner after the seventh round, trainer Al Mitchell told Mayer, “It’s not at her head, it’s at her body,” urging her to go to the body to slow Ryan down.

With the fight close, both trainers urged their fighters to win the final round.

“I don’t care what you got left in your body, I need it. Proud of you, you fought like a G,” Savoy told Ryan.

Both women demonstrated the highest level skills and punching, thrilling the fans in New York. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

“Don’t let that girl steal this round,” Mitchell told Mayer.

Both women fought with everything they had right to the bell, with Ryan landing hooks from both sides, and Mayer retuning left hooks.

With the victory, Mayer becomes a three-division world champion.

“It went similar to how I thought it would go,” said Mayer. “I always said before I respected Sandy as a boxer. She has a big pedigree, just like myself, but I knew I was going to beat her to the punch. I knew I was faster. I knew I was sharper, and that's exactly what I did.”

Mayer said she picked up the pace through the last half of the fight, and Ryan couldn’t handle her timing. Mayer called Ryan the strongest person she’d ever boxed. “You can feel it in her body, you know, trying to push me around the ring. But skill beats strength.

Did Ugly Attack Before Fight Rattle Sandy Ryan?

Sandy Ryan was covered in paint from an unidentified assailant before her fight with Mikaela Mayer. Photo: Matchroom Boxing

Over a month ago, Mayer accused Ryan of stealing her longtime training team, including coach Kay Koroma, who also trains Shakur Stevenson. Koroma was in Ryan's corner when she defeated Terri Harper to defend her title in March. But he wasn’t in the corner tonight; he was watching from the seats as a fan.

As Ryan left her hotel to make her way to Madison Square Garden, a car drove past. Occupants dowsed Ryan in red paint. She changed her clothing and arrived without any further incident, but said after the fight, the incident threw her off her game plan.

“I'm disappointed, and I'm not taking anything away from the decision,” said Ryan of the loss.

“At the start, walking to the venue, I was, like, shook up, and then it threw me off a bit of my game plan because I just wanted to fight. And you seen at the start of the fight, I was handling her quite well on the jab, boxing her, and then started to pick it up,” explained Ryan.

Undisputed Next Goal for Mikaela Mayer

Mikaela Mayer may be heading for a rematch with Natasha Jonas. Photo: Lawrence Lustig, Boxxer

Mayer reflected on how the ups and downs in her boxing career helped her handle the high emotions and controversy leading up to Friday’s fight.

“I think that through all the ups and downs in my career, the one thing I took from all that is experience of emotions. I've had to experience all types of emotions, from the highs and the lows, and still had to perform under all of that.

So, I took that experience into this fight tonight, and I just did what I had to do. I know when that bell rings, it's all in the past.”

Ryan sees things a bit differently. “I was just thrown off a bit of my game plan. But I'm not taking nothing away from her. I've been respectful to build up. It's a shame she hasn't been to me, but that's who she is, isn't it?” Ouch.

Mayer said her objective now is to unify the welterweight division, something she tried and failed to do at lightweight. It could mean a return trip to England for a rematch with Natasha Jonas or Lauren Price. The WBC belt is currently held by or Ivana Habazin of Croatia. And a rematch with Ryan is no doubt an option.

Xander Zayas Breezes Past Damian Sosa

Xander Zayas kept Damian Sosan in check. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

In the 10-round super welterweight co-feature, Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico (20-0, 12 KOs) expected a tougher fight from Mexican contender Damian Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs). But Zayas controlled the fight from start to finish, winning a shutout decision by scores of 100-90 on all three cards.

Zayas put up plenty of offensive effort but easily evaded anything Sosa fired at him. He thanked him after the fight.

“He pushed me, and he elevated me to the next level. Now I feel like I’m ready. Before, I felt like I was ready. Now, I know I’m ready for the big names,” said Zayas.

Xander Zayas says he's ready to test himself against the top names at 154 pounds. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

“They said he threw 84 punches per round. I didn’t see that today. I did my job. Now I just gotta be calm, relax, and see what the company wants.” Zayas says to him that means anyone ranked in the top five at 154 pounds.

It’s a division loaded with talent: Terence Crawford, Jaron Ennis, Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr, Serhii Bohachuk, Bakhram Murtazaliev. Zayas isn’t ready for the elite, but we’d love to see him take on someone like Erickson Lubin, Brandon Adams, or Jesus Ramos Jr. Even though Zayas is still just 22 years old, it’s time to step it up.

Bruce Carrington Wins Decision over Sulaiman Segawa

Bruce Carrington dug in for a majority decision win over Sulaiman Segawa. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (14-0, 8 KOs) struggled in his fight against Sulaiman Segawa of Uganda (17-5-1, 6 KOs) but squeaked by with a decision victory in a high-stakes chess match. Scores were 97-93 twice and 95-95.

Segawa made himself hard to find, and his work rate was higher than Carrington's. Fortunately for the hometown fighter, Segawa eased off in the final round, which was the difference in the fight. All three judges gave the tenth round to Carrington.

If Sulaiman Segawa had pressed the action in the final round, he would have pulled out at least a draw. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

“Sula, you’re a good fighter, bro. Definitely my best competitor I’ve had so far,” said Carrington in the ring after the results were read.

Carrington owned up to the difficulty he faced in the fight and acknowledged the lessons learned would benefit him.

“I owe him a lot. This is going to get me to the next level,” said Carrington. “I learned to deal with the off-tempo. I gotta a few things to work on back at the gym.”

Mielnicki Jr. Gets Decision

Vito Mielnicki Jr. sent his fans home happy with a win over Khalil El Harraz. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

On the ESPN+-streamed undercard, Vito Mielnicki Jr. of New Jersey (20-1, 12 KOs) put together a solid decision victory over Khalil El Harraz of Italy (16-6-1, 2 KOs) in front of his local fans, winning a 10-round junior middleweight battle.

Scores were 100-90, 98-92, and an outlier scorecard of 95 to 95 to give Mielnicki Jr. the victory. Say what you will about Mielnicki’s future, but he had a sizable number of fans at The Theater, who were wearing Mielnicki’s logo and cheering him on.

Tiger Johnson Needs to Sharpen His Claws

Delante “Tiger” Johnson hasn't yet delivered on the promise of his amateur career. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Tiger Johnson of Cleveland (15-0, 6 KOs) ground out a decision over Yomar Alamo of Puerto Rico (22-4-1, 13 KOs) over eight rounds. Scorecards were 78-74, 78-74, and 77-55 for Johnson.

Johnson got the job done, but the 2020 Olympic team member seems to have hit a plateau in his development. His punch output and power have stalled. He’s grinding out wins at this level. It won’t serve him against tougher opposition in the super bantamweight division.

Elvis Rodriguez Rebuilding Continues

Elvis Rodriguez is slowly working his way back through the junior welterweight division. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Elvis Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic (17-1, 13 KOs) breezed to a win over Kendo Castañeda of San Antonio (21-7, 9 KOs). Castaneda made Rodriguez work for the win, making the fight more competitive for fans watching than the scorecards might indicate. Rodriguez, once a high-flying prospect until his majority decision loss to Kenneth Sims Jr. in 2021, has been in rebuilding mode ever since.

Don’t be surprised if the Top Rank matchmaking team tees up Rodriguez against Johnson in 2025.

Floyd Diaz Jr. Wins Decision

Floyd “Cash Flow” Diaz had to settle for a decision win over Mario Hernandez. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Bantamweight Floyd “Cash Flow” Diaz of Las Vegas (13-0, 3 KOs) delivered a solid win over tough Mario Hernandez of Mexico (12-5-1, 4 KOs). Scores were 78-73, 78-73, and 77-74. Díaz had opportunities when he hurt Hernandez to end the fight early, but Hernandez survived all the rough spots to go the distance.

Rohan Polanco Delivers TKO Win

Keep your eye on bantamweight prospect Rohan Polanco. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

In the best performance on the undercard, impressive bantamweight prospect Rohan Polanco of the Dominican Republic (14-0, 9 KOs) dropped Marcelino Lopez of Argentina (37-5-1, 22 KOs) for the first time in his career, with referee Eddie Claudio finally calling it a night for Lopex in the sixth round. They were the first four knockdowns and the first stoppage of the veteran’s career.

Polanco’s money punch was the uppercut on Friday. The first knockdown came from a wicked uppercut, dropping Lopez to the canvas, but a quick bell saved him. The final knockdown came from another uppercut, this time in the middle of a long combination of power punches. The veteran Lopez decided to take a knee to stop the barrage of punches, but Claudio didn’t see any point in subjecting Lopez to more punishment.