Sandy Ryan returned Stateside to defend her WBO world welterweight title, left empty-handed and with a burning sense of injustice after a series of events during an emotional fight week saw the 31-year-old narrowly lose a fiery 10-round majority decision against former amateur sparring partner Mikaela Mayer, who became a two-weight world champion at the second attempt.
Ryan did enough to win, finishes second in razor-thin bout
95-95, 97-93, 96-94: Mikaela Mayer bt. Sandy Ryan via majority decision, wins WBO welterweight world title and improves to 20-2
- New champion is open to all possibilities! “If the fans want a rematch and the money’s right, I’ll do it… but the goal is undisputed, there’s plenty [of opponents] I can fight,” Mayer says in post-fight interview with ESPN
- Ryan has called upon NYPD to investigate after being unsettled by paint attack en route to the fight venue. “I’m obviously disappointed, I don’t like the circumstances but it is what it is. We put on a great fight, the fans liked it but I’ll leave it [the future] up to my manager, team and promoter.”
- Matchroom, who have promoted the Derby woman since 2021 debut, have already lobbied for an immediate rematch in 2025 after competitive fight that could’ve gone either way saw her lose world honours at 147lbs
- Croatian veteran Ivana Habazin won vacant WBC world honours in April, while newly-minted WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine champion Lauren Price provide Mayer multiple opportunities to unify titles besides a Jonas rematch after controversially losing in Liverpool on January 20
ON the eve of her unsuccessful attempt to win IBF welterweight world gold in Liverpool, Mikaela Mayer stressed an eagerness to box over three-minute rounds for the rest of her career should potential opponents agree to such future conditions.
It hasn’t materialised for a series of reasons, but this bout quickly proved another example of why that should be the case, particularly at world championship level.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum had an impromptu rant publicly bemoaning the state of judging in British boxing after hearing his charge, Josh Taylor, lost on the scorecards following a long-awaited Jack Catterall rematch (117-111 x 2, 116-113) on May 25.
He insisted no more TR fighters would box across the pond as a consequence and while Taylor is now a free agent weighing up British options, this fight really should’ve ought to be headlining its own Matchroom show up North in England somewhere as Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper ultimately did, some 24 hours later.
Instead, Ryan returned to US soil keen for redemption after being dealt a bad hand – almost to the day twelve months ago – against now-former undisputed welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill in what proved a dubious split decision draw result.
Unified world featherweight champion Amanda Serrano has, albeit briefly, managed to do so but the point behind three-minute rounds at the elite level in women’s boxing make competitive fights much clearer to choose either boxer and in this case, judges have further action on which to base their round-by-round scoring.
Ryan jabbed well in the early going, connecting on quick counters before Mayer landed a pair of stiff right hands at the end of a close first stanza. As I wrote in my notes mid-fight, the loudest work can often edge swing rounds in the judges’ mind.
R2 saw Ryan push the pace, taking centre ring and sticking in the challenger’s face, the last half-minute felt telling for the champion as she was subsequently criticised in the corner for failing to sustain pressure and varying her jab placement.
“I know, I hurt my left elbow,” was her response picked up by ESPN mics between rounds as a forgettable day – having been ambushed hours earlier by a paint attack en route to the arena – threatened to worsen. Would the adrenaline help?
Potentially 2-0 down and on enemy territory no less, the Derby native responded well in the third with body punching and some rough-housing in the pocket, though that allowed Mayer an opportunity to catch her clean rather than maintain distance.
Scolded for creating the makings of a firefight without being defensively smart, Ryan would’ve quickly gained respect of those cheering against her but needed to move more as she weathered an storm of uppercuts deep in a frantic fourth round.
Into round five they went, Ryan accepting between rounds she had just been outworked and needed a remedy as Mayer invested in body punching while importantly appearing to land the first and last punch during their close exchanges.
A tale of two fights? Well, not quite
Mayer jabbed off her back foot early in the sixth, Ryan’s defences were sharpened as she landed a slick left hook and right hand combo before unloading with big shots clean in the round’s final half-minute.
Suddenly I got a sense of Ryan-McCaskill vibes after another round where the visitor did more than enough to win but with judges, you just never know what they see.
Ryan was 56-58 down on one scorecard, 58-56 on another and 57-57 through six rounds. She curiously lost each of the final four rounds on one card, rounds 8-10 on the 97-93 Mayer card while Bob Williams had an even split (2-2) over those rounds.
23 power punches landed in that stanza for the champion, who pressed forward in the seventh and the pair exchanged furiously during a back-and-forth round where both produced highlight-reel moments.
Mayer landed a big flurry midway through round eight and was noticeably more physical with her entries against a champion happy to match that rough intensity.
Ryan’s hooks caught the American clean and she finished the round well despite eating more uppercuts in the ninth as her defence wasn’t tight enough to deter more.
Into the final frame they went, Ryan landing single shots with her right while increasingly content tying up to stifle Mayer’s work. The challenger doubled up on her left hooks while Ryan’s body punching in the clinch did some damage, before more holding saw an admittedly tame end to a tense-but-tasty firefight.
I could see 95-95 draw and potentially a 96-94 in Mayer’s favour but scored it by that slender margin for the defending champion. 97-93 certainly belies what we saw, especially as it was probably 3-3 or even 4-2 Ryan through six rounds…
Robbery talk is never far from the surface when a tightly-contested bout goes one way, but Ryan will feel wronged again on away soil. Whether she’ll get an immediate rematch, one she deserves, remains to be seen as unification bouts are there.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via ESPN
Mo and Sports 