Mikaela Mayer wins for the first time since her unification defeat against Alycia Baumgardner in October, beating Lucy Wildheart after her original opponent Christina Linardatou was forced to withdraw from the fight after failing her medical
Sunday 16 April 2023 10:51, UK
Mikaela Mayer made a winning return to the ring as she beat last-minute replacement Lucy Wildheart by unanimous decision at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday night.
Wildheart was drafted in a mere 24 hours before the fight after Mayer's scheduled opponent Christina Linardatou failed her pre-fight medical.
The Swedish fighter proved an admirably-stern test given the swift turnaround, but it was Mayer who registered the better work for the duration as the judges scored the fight 98-92, 100-90, 98-91 in her favour to make her the new WBC interim lightweight champion.
Mayer was in action for the first time since her defeat to American rival Alycia Baumgardner in their super featherweight unification bout on an all-female card at The O2 back in October.
The former IBF and WBO champion extended her record to 18-1 with the victory as she took a step back towards fighting for a world title. She now has her sights set on facing the winner of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano's world title clash at Madison Square Garden on April 30.
"I have obviously always wanted to fight Katie," Mayer said. "It has been no secret. I have always wanted to challenge myself against her.
"But I wouldn't mind having Serrano on my resume either. I think they're both great fighters, both have done a lot for the sport. We'll see who comes out on top."
Wildheart underlined the art of staying ready early on as she looked in excellent condition while refraining from overcommitting herself, showing swift defensive work to put the onus on Mayer to take the fight to her.
The 30-year-old, who is based in Essex, sought to open up in the second to which Mayer was able to capitalise with her first clean jab to push back the head of Wildheart. She looked to punish a moment of Wildheart aggression seconds later by throwing a left hook to catch her opponent off-balance before plunging a right into the torso of the Swede.
Wildheart admirably took it upon herself to increase the tempo in the fourth, the pair trading combinations on the inside before Mayer squeezed a strong right into the stomach of her opponent on the ropes. Back came Wildheart with a glancing left to the side of Mayer's face as the American turned to her uppercut momentarily as a means to reinforce her power.
Mayer would step up her efforts significantly in the fifth, stalking a stern Wildheart around the ring with some bruising melees on the inside, requests from the latter's corner to use her hook resulting in a swing-and-a-miss.
The American began to turn to her reach and length, controlling the distancing with snappy jabs to deny Wildheart the opportunity to move their exchanges inside.
'Deep deep' was the request from the corner of Wildheart with Mayer in total control in the seventh, a right hand piercing the late stand-in's defence to slap her head to the side.
Leather began to fly in the closing stages of the eighth, the pair simultaneously crashing right hooks into their counterpart's cheek after Mayer had again enjoyed the better of the trade-offs.
Wildheart, to her credit, demonstrated her impressive conditioning with a nice spell of transitioning from an overhand right into a quick evasive move, forcing Mayer to get close to her on the inside where the former champ was more than willing to showcase her grit with some slick body shots.
Mayer's accuracy and power was reflected by the bloodying nose of Wildheart smeared across the white gloves of the American, who unleashed a fierce uppercut with 30 seconds to go in the fight before trading heavy hands until the bell, when the pair each afforded a smile.
