Mikaela Mayer settles Sandy Ryan rivalry with rematch victory to defend WBO welterweight world championship

30 March 2025, 06:16 | Updated: 30 March 2025, 12:53

Mikaela Mayer concluded her rivalry with Derby’s Sandy Ryan, winning a unanimous decision to defend the WBO welterweight world championship at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Mayer had beaten Ryan last year to secure the title but that first fight had been shrouded with controversy after a bizarre pre-fight incident saw the Briton doused in paint.

The dispute between the camps only grew more fierce, with Mayer's former trainer Kay Koroma taking on Ryan and cornering the challenger in this rematch.

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Ryan did start well in the second fight. But Mayer looked to assert herself as the stronger and bigger fighter at welterweight with clean, punishing hooks.

Ryan found some success with right hands and uppercuts, particularly in the later rounds. A clash of heads in the eighth opened a cut over Mayer's left eye but it did not change the momentum of the fight.

Mayer pressured Ryan, finding her rhythm. Ryan looked to respond and up the pace of her work. But despite her catching Mayer with her right, the champion was getting the better of their exchanges.

Ryan came on in the ninth round, landing a fine uppercut. But Mayer finished strongly in the 10th and last round, putting her combinations together as Ryan fought back.

With scores of 97-93 twice and 98-92, Mayer won a unanimous decision. She has now put herself in line for a shot at the undisputed crown. Wales' Lauren Price holds the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, the other major world titles at 147lbs.

Mayer said: "I sat on my shots more and committed to my hooks more. Those hooks were coming over the top.

"Sandy tends to stand straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.

"I had been needing to move to welterweight for a long time. So when I finally did, it just took a good, solid year and hard work. This is where I'm comfortable and this is where I should have been.

"I beat Sandy Ryan twice. Now it's time for me to move on and go for undisputed, which is against Lauren Price."

On the undercard, Brian Norman Jr had waited 10 months to defend his world title, but he only needed 10 minutes.

The 24-year-old retained his WBO 147lb championship with a third-round stoppage win over Puerto Rican contender Derrieck Cuevas.

The two traded bombs early but the threat of each other's power tempered the exchanges. Norman began pawing with the jab and digging to the body to create openings, and in round two he buzzed Cuevas with a left hook that triggered a series of shots.

Another left hook in the third dropped Cuevas. He beat the count but failed to respond to the referee's instructions, prompting the stoppage at 2-59.

Norman said: "I was just getting back into it. I was out for 10 months. So it was just about getting back into the field and being in front of everybody.

"As you saw, it wasn't a struggle at all. Great opponent. Only has one defeat and you saw what I did to him.

"I want one of these [other] belts. I see them out here trying to make unification fights. Where's my little piece at?"

Bruce 'Shu Shu' Carrington handed Mexico's Jose Enrique Vivas a first stoppage defeat with a punishing third-round finish.

Vivas tried to suffocate Carrington with pressure from the opening bell, walking him down and pinning him to the ropes, but the Brooklyn native stayed composed and turned the exchanges in his favour, answering with sharp uppercuts and hooks on the inside.

In the second, Carrington dropped Vivas. By the third, Vivas' legs were gone. After Carrington landed a few clean shots, Vivas began to retreat, prompting the referee to halt it.

Carrington called for a world title shot next. "Nick Ball? Yeah, I want that. Stephen Fulton? Yeah, I want that," he said. "Let's get this work in. I want all of y'all."

Emiliano Fernando Vargas returned from injuring his left hand and put that weapon to brutal use, scoring a highlight-reel second-round knockout over Giovannie Gonzalez.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Mikaela Mayer settles Sandy Ryan rivalry with rematch victory to defend WBO welterweight world championship