Mikaela Mayer returns to the USA to challenge Sandy Ryan for the WBO title live on Sky Sports on September 28; Promoter Bob Arum said: "Mikaela Mayer always wants to fight the best and Sandy Ryan is an elite welterweight. These are two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world"
Tuesday 10 September 2024 17:17, UK
Sandy Ryan will defend her WBO welterweight world title against the USA’s Mikaela Mayer at the Madison Square Garden Theatre, live on Sky Sports on September 28.
Two of boxing's most promising emerging talents, Puerto Rican super-welterweight Xander Zayas and Brooklyn-born featherweight Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington, will see action in separate 10-round contests.
Zayas will face Mexican contender Damian Sosa, while Carrington looks to turn away the upset-minded Sulaiman Segawa.
The enmity between the main event fighters was stoked further when Ryan began working with the American's training team, prompting Mayer to leave the gym.
Kay Koroma, who helped train Mayer from Olympic standout to professional world champion, will help train Ryan for this career-defining main event.
"I knew that at 147lbs I was going to be going after the champs and Sandy's one of those champs. To me it was a major conflict of interest her coming here and training with my team and I made the decision to walk away and separate myself from that. And good thing I did just in time to make this fight happen. I think it was a blessing in disguise," Mayer told Sky Sports News.
"I need a team who is fully Team Mikaela. I need to trust whoever's in my corner. I can't have someone in my corner buddy-buddy with my opponent. There's a lot on the line for this fight and I need every box checked, I need to be 100 per cent mentally and physically.
"If I thought Sandy was a chump I wouldn't be chasing her down, I wouldn't be calling her out, I wouldn't put the effort in to make this fight. I definitely rate her. She's talented, she's at the top of her game right now.
"I'm no [Jessica] McCaskill and I'm no Terri Harper. I know 100 percent, and she knows this too, I'm her toughest fight to date."
Mayer, a 2016 US Olympian, jumped out to a 17-0 record to begin her pro career while winning a pair of super-featherweight world titles.
The Los Angeles native returns to America after a four-fight run in England that included a contentious 2022 split decision loss to Alycia Baumgardner in a bid for the undisputed super-featherweight title.
Mayer won a pair of decisions in 2023 as she moved up in weight to prepare for a welterweight world title opportunity. In January, she lost a debated split decision to IBF champion Natasha Jonas.
While a Jonas rematch did not materialise, Mayer now has another chance to become a two-weight world champion.
"After months of negotiations in every direction, I am thrilled that my team has pulled through for me and got me this fight. As several dates fell through in the UK, the last thing I expected was for my manager to call with an offer that ticked every box," Mayer said.
"My team not only secured me another title fight against the opponent I asked for, but I'm coming back to the US.
"I loved fighting in the UK over the past two years, but I have genuinely missed fighting in America. I'm ready to take Sandy Ryan's WBO belt."
Ryan, from Derby, England, turned pro in 2021 after an accomplished amateur career that included a 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal and a 2014 World Championships silver medal. Her lone defeat - a March 2022 split decision to Erica Farias - was avenged less than five months later with a unanimous decision triumph.
Ryan picked up the vacant WBO title in April 2023 with a unanimous decision over Marie-Pier Houle. Following a highly contentious draw with Jessica McCaskill in a title unification tilt, Ryan notched her signature victory in March with a devastating fourth-round knockout over former two-division world champion Terri Harper.
She said: "I'm excited to be returning to America and particularly fighting at MSG. It's the Mecca of boxing and a venue that every champion dreams of competing in. I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity.
"It's the perfect moment in my career, and I'm looking forward to successfully defending my world title. I can promise that on a level playing field, nobody is taking this belt from me.
"Mayer has had an awful lot to say about me and this fight, and I'm sure she will continue to do so, but I'm an athlete and a professional. I will let my boxing do my talking, and I will shine in that ring.
"Bring it on!"
Promoter Bob Arum said: "Mikaela Mayer always wants to fight the best, and Sandy Ryan is an elite welterweight. These are the two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and the winner will stake her claim as the preeminent 147-pounder.
"Bruce Carrington and Xander Zayas are future superstars, and I look forward to seeing how they fare against the toughest opponents of their respective careers."
Watch Sandy Ryan vs Mikaela Mayer live on Sky Sports on September 28
Jaime Munguia vs Erik Bazinyan - Super-middleweight bout (September 21)
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois - IBF heavyweight title (September 21 on Sky Sports Box Office)
Sandy Ryan vs Mikaela Mayer - WBO welterweight title (September 28)
Takuma Inoue vs Seiya Tsutsumi - WBA bantamweight title (October 13)
Junto Nakatani vs Tasana Salapat - WBC bantamweight title (October 14)
Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies - Super-lightweight bout (October 19)
