The fight that she wants the most is the one that is all but impossible for Mikaela Mayer to get. On Saturday in Liverpool, England, on a card streamed beginning at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+, Mayer will challenge Natasha Jones for the IBF welterweight championship.
If she wins, she'll become a three-division champion, which is nothing to sneeze at even in today's world where championships are highly diluted.
She might not say it, but if she were to tell the truth, she'd probably be rematching with Alycia Baumgardner for the undisputed super featherweight championship.
There is zero chance of that happening, though, and it has nothing to do with the personal animosity between Mayer and Baumgardner that arose out of their unification fight on Oct. 15, 2022, in London that Baumgardner won by split decision.
Mayer has zero shot at making either super featherweight or lightweight these days. It's no stunner that she didn't campaign for a super lightweight and moved directly to welterweight after winning a decision over Sylvia Bortot in a non-title bout in September.
Physically she's outgrown her first two divisions and it's tough for her to hit 140. But though she's jumping well up in weight, she still has history in mind. It's one of the reasons she's one of the sport's more popular fighters. She's one of the modern breed that seeks the biggest fights available and doesn't worry about splits or all these other trivial issues that derail so many potentially good bouts.
"It's not just about the belt," Mayer said. "It's not just about becoming a world champion again. It's about challenging myself against the best, having those names on my resume and knowing that I did my absolute best to challenge myself against the other great girls in the sport so that I can truly say I'm a top pound-for-pound fighter of this era. That's important for my legacy and for my fans because I know that these are the types of fights that they want to see."
Those are the kinds of fights that build legacy and ultimately help one to grow the bank account.
Mayer is 19-1, and her bout on Saturday will be for a world title, meaning a full third of her matches were championship bouts. She's not expected to have an easy time of it against the 14-2-1 Jonas, the reigning champion who is a -135 favorite at DraftKings sports book.
A southpaw, Jonas is a slick boxer who uses angles well.
"It's going to be a good fight," Jonas said. "We've both got the IQ and the ability to box. We've both got the skill, and the strength to fight if we need to. That being said, I think our styles will make a great fight. I'm not going to be a reactive fighter and wait to see what she pulls out the bag. I'm going to be putting on my best foot forward and making her worry about me from the get-go."
Both women understand the importance of the bout in terms of their legacy. Earlier in her career when she competed at lightweight, Jonas fought then-women's pound-for-pound champion Katie Taylor.
She like Mayer, wanted the bout because it gives her a shot against another of the sport's big names.
"This is a big statement," she said. "We’ve seen so many times that the best don't fight the best for whatever reason. But I believe that for me to classify myself as one of the best of this era, I have to fight the best. I look at some of the boxers on list, the Katie Taylors and Chantelle Camerons, and they've beaten people in the Top 10 on the pound-for-pound list. For me to be able to solidify a legacy for myself, I believe I have to do the same, and Mikaela is on that list."