LAS VEGAS – Through all the ongoing drama, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan once again produced an instant classic.
For the second time in six months, it was Mayer who walked away with the victory after 10 beautifully violent rounds.
“I wanted to kick her ass, and I did,” insisted Mayer in recapping their second act.
Mayer, the defending WBO welterweight titlist, walked away with a unanimous decision this time around, six months after sweating out a majority decision to win the belt in New York City. Judges Steve Weisfeld (97-93), Benoit Roussel (97-93) and Max DeLuca (98-92) all saw Mayer winning wide in their all-action sequel Saturday evening at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
“It was a great two fights,” Mayer said. “The women are just getting better and better. Me and Sandy just set the new bar for what … competitive fights should look like.”
Both fighters came out pumping their jabs during the opening round. Ryan mixed in enough right hands to seemingly take the frame as well as cause minor swelling under Mayer’s left eye.
Mayer was once again caught with that right hand early in the second round. She began to seize momentum towards the back half of the round, particularly late, when a right of her own forced Ryan to clinch.
Both fighters strayed from legal tactics in the third, unintentionally or otherwise.
Ryan was cautioned by referee Allen Huggins for hitting Mayer in the back of the head. Mayer’s infraction went unnoticed by the in-ring official. An attempt to drive Ryan into the ropes saw Mayer lead with her head and then follow with a right hand down the middle. Her follow-up attack forced Ryan to fight in reverse to avoid getting caught with any more shots.
Mayer continued to push the action, though Ryan was game for the cause. Mayer slammed home a right hand, left hook combination late in the fourth round, which Ryan took well but was unable to offer an immediate response.
Momentum remained with Mayer, who scored with a double jab and a right hand behind it in the fifth. Ryan’s face showed the effects of the punches as a bruise developed just outside her right eye. The visiting former titlist was not without her moments, including a left hook that caught Mayer late in the round.
The second half of the fight saw Mayer continue to assert herself, while Ryan dug into her bag of tricks in hopes of turning things around. Mayer landed a right hand early in the sixth, the weapon again finding a home, along with an uppercut that briefly jarred Ryan.
Mayer was averaging more than 50 punches per two-minute round through six and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Ryan found a way to use her opponent’s aggression to her own benefit, as she landed right hands between Mayer’s punches to close out her best round since the early going.
Ryan connected to the body in the eighth, while both fighters landed power shots upstairs. Mayer worked her way inside and leaned on Ryan, who used the moment to land a combination downstairs. The worst blow dealt to Mayer, however, was a headbutt when the two were at close quarters. The sequence left Mayer with a deep cut over her left eye.
Momentum remained with Ryan into the ninth, who connected with a power combination early in the round. A bloodied Mayer valiantly stormed back, but Ryan was getting the better of the action late, a replication of their first fight, in which she had to overcome a mid-round surge by Mayer.
Ryan called for applause from the passionate crowd prior to the start of the 10th and final round. Mayer was more focused on the best path to retain her title. She did just that by emptying the tank in the final two minutes, even if the cards were well in her favor by that point. A swarm of power shots by Mayer forced Ryan to react and respond, though she was already too far down to make up the difference.
Ryan remains winless in the US – 0-2-1 on this side of the pond and now 7-3-1 (2 KOs) overall. There is definitely a future for Ryan on the title stage, though she will face a longer wait should she remain at welterweight.
Mayer, 21-2 (5 KOs), most certainly is not going anywhere – not at a weight she wishes she had fought at long before last year.
“This is where I belong,” said Mayer, a former unified 130lbs titlist. “I needed to move to welterweight for a long time. When I finally did, it took a good, solid year of hard work. This is where I’m comfortable, this is where I should have been.”
