The first time Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan fought, Ryan was assaulted just hours before their bout for the WBO welterweight title.
On Saturday in their rematch at The Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Ryan was assaulted once again. This time, though, it was by Mayer in the ring.
Mayer’s aggressiveness and sharper punching led her to a unanimous decision victory over Ryan in yet another compelling scrap.
Mayer lifted the belt from Ryan in New York in September, winning by majority decision in an outstanding match. But that fight was clouded by an ugly pre-fight incident, when someone threw a bucket of paint on Ryan as she left her hotel.
No one has been arrested.
Mayer, though, left no doubt on Saturday. There was no paint on Ryan, just welts from crisp lefts and rights delivered by an aggressive and motivated champion.
Mayer is one of the game’s best trash talkers. But afterward, she kept it simple. Their first bout was a Fight of the Year contender for 2024 and Saturday’s rematch was at least as good, though not as dramatic since Mayer was in command most of the way.
“I wanted to kick her ass, and I did,” Mayer said.
Unlike the first bout, there was little drama in this one. Mayer won by scores of 97-93 twice and 98-92 by out-hustling Ryan. Mayer out-threw Ryan 517-366 and out-landed her 178-146.
Neither will ever remind anyone of Ann Wolfe, arguably the hardest puncher in women’s boxing history, though Ryan had the reputation as a harder hitter. Mayer, though, landed most of the punches with pop on Saturday.
The lack of punching power stole some of the drama, because both landed flush shots that could have altered the outcome had they carried more zip.
There were no knockdowns and neither woman was ever more than buzzed. The only drama came late in the eighth when an inadvertent head butt as they were jockeying for position inside opened a cut on Mayer’s left eyelid.
Blood streaked down Mayer’s face, and into her eye, in the final two rounds, but Ryan wasn’t able to capitalize.
Anything short of a stoppage wasn’t going to be enough, though, as Mayer took advantage of a flaw they noticed in Ryan from the first fight. Ryan would break her posture as she moved in and Mayer made her pay by coming over the top with her hook.
“I sat down on my shots more and committed to my hooks more,” Mayer said. “Those hooks were coming over the top. Sandy tends to stand too straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.”
Each time Ryan tried to close the distance, Mayer would pop her with a hook or a straight right hand.
Ryan dug a hole that she could never dig herself out of.
“I thought it was close,” she said. “I thought I was doing well at the start and then I got into a fight, so I just felt like I had to finish the fight.”
The 20 rounds over the two bouts were compelling and put each of them in a positive light. The emotions that were stirred up by the paint incident before their first match simply raised the bar and created great theater.
Mayer took the rematch because of the controversy surrounding the first bout and because so many enjoyed it.
After clearly establishing herself as superior, she’s now eyeing the one feat in boxing she has yet to reach: Becoming undisputed champion.
She was the unified champion at super featherweight, but dropped a close decision to Alycia Baumgardner in 2022 in a bout for the undisputed 130-pound belt.
Lauren Price has the WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight belts and that’s where Mayer’s attention is turning now.
Her rivalry with Ryan may be remembered long-term for the bizarre incident before their first fight.
But after definitively winning Saturday, Mayer was free to go out in Las Vegas and paint the town red.
She earned that right the hard way: With her fists.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Mikaela Mayer (blue) raises his arm in a token of victory after her bout Saturday with Sandy Ryan in Las Vegas. Mayer retained her WBO welterweight title via unanimous decision.