Mayer dethrones Ryan, Zayas wins

In a grudge fight, former champion Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) dethroned WBO female welterweight champion Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) by majority decision on Friday night inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Good two-way action all the way. Early on, the aggressive Mayer took the fight to Ryan, connecting with punches but also getting hit. Ryan came on down the stretch, but it was too little, too late. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 96-94.

Sandy Ryan Vs Mikaela Mayer Action12
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

There has been bad blood between the camps in the lead-up to the fight. Earlier, on her way to the fight, someone threw red paint on Ryan. Mayer denied any involvement.

In other action, WBO #3, WBC #6, IBF #7 junior middleweight Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Damian Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs). Zayas in command all the way but Santiago toughed it out for the full distance. Scores were 100-90 3x.

Xander Zayas Vs Damian Sosa Action24
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Unbeaten WBA #1, WBC #2, WBO #2, IBF #8 featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (13-0, 8 KOs) got past Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KOs) in a slow-paced fight. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 97-93.

WBA #4 super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (20-1, 12 KOs) took a ten round majority decision against Khalil El Harraz (16-6-1, 2 KOs). Scores were 95-95, 100-90, 98-92.

Bantamweight Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (13-0, 3 KOs) topped Mario Hernandez (12-5-1, 4 KOs) over eight by scores of 77-74, 78-73, 78-73.

Junior welterweight Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez (17-1-1, 13 KOs) defeated Kendo Castaneda (21-7, 9 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 100-90, 99-91, 100-90.

U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson (14-0, 6 KOs) outpointed Yomar Alamo (22-3-1, 13 KOs) over eight rounds at junior welterweight. Scores were 77-75, 78-74, 78-74.

Unbeaten welterweight Rohan Polanco (14-0, 9 KOs) stopped veteran Marcelino Lopez (37-5-1,22 KOs) in round six. Polanco dominated from the opening bell, dropping Lopez multiple times.

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  • Interesting scoring in the Mielnicki fight. One judge scored it a shutout, while another had it a draw.

    • Shu shu! I think you got way with a gift! That was the very least a draw and Sula didn’t do any favors by not fighting the last round either.

  • Zayas looked excellent. That was a really good performance. He won every second of every round and Sosa is not world beater, of course, but he is a pretty good fighter, coming off a nice win.

    • He definitely took it to him and didn’t allow him to get off. I actually turned it off in the eighth because zayas was so far ahead. Good win for him and another rung in the ladder taken.

    • What do you think about Zayas vs Ortiz? They seem to be moving Zayas slowly but he’s calling out Ortiz.

      • I think Zayas’ ceiling is higher than Ortiz’. When they’re both done, I think Zayas has the better career. He’s just 22 though, so the last thing you want to do is rush him along but CLEARLY he is capable of competing with guys better than the diet he’s been on. I would probably put him in with Ortiz this time next year (and be fairly confident that he wins) but between now and then, have him fight two or three guys like Brandon Adams, Kurbanov, Baraou… and say at the beginning of 2026 (if he can still make 154), then he’s ready for just about anyone in the division.

      • My opinion. Two different fighters. Zayas is technically sound. Ortiz can box, but has more pop. Zayas being young probably doesn’t have that man strength yet either. Dont think they fight anytime soon. Ortiz has to get by the Ukrainian he just fought again then it’s probably on to a fundora, tszyu, or maybe a Crawford providing he wins. I don’t think zayas is ready for Ortiz and if they fight, I think it would be at 160.

        • I agree with that. I think that if they were to fight like in their next fight, Ortiz would have the advantage and it would be rushing Zayas.

          • Yeah. I wonder how long he can stay at 154? Then how high he could eventually go? They have brought him along quite well, I know I didn’t think that awhile ago. Curious who is next?

          • Yeah, I think they’re doing good with him. I love the fact that he’s getting rounds. He’s dominating most of them, but you don’t see Zayas blowing guys out like Berlanga was and I think he will definitely benefit from that competition. If Brandon Adams wins that Overtime tournament he’s in (and he should), I think he’ll make for a really good opponent for Zayas.

  • The PETA-like attack before the fight notwithstanding, that was an excellent fight. I thought Ryan might be too strong for Mayer but she was not, I had Mayer winning. She showed a great chin taking some of those clean shots (defense wasn’t great) and an even better motor. Ryan would slow down in the second half of the round and Mayer would turn it on.
    GREAT FIGHT!

    • I had it 6-4 in favor of Meyer, but there were so many close rounds that just about any score would be defensible.

      I feel happy for Meyer because she’s always been on the bad side of close decisions in the past. The loss to Jonas was a flat bad decision.

      If womens boxing is going to stay with 2 minute rounds, I wish they’d at least fight 15. If the sport wants to keep a “brand difference” between men and women, having women go 15 2s would be nice. 10 2s is just too short.

      • The rounds were close and they were so similar with Ryan having an early lead and then Mayer surging during the second half. I had Mayer 7-3, but if someone even had Ryan 7-3, I couldn’t complain because that would just mean that they favored her type of work consistently as I clearly favored Mayer’s consistently.

        They’ve both had tough decisions not go in their way. There’re people who think Mayer beat both Jonas and Baumgardner and she got two losses and there’re people who think Ryan should have been unified champion (and I’m one of them) after the Jessica McCaskill fight. They’ll keep going though maybe meet each other again in a bit.

        • I had it for Ryan. I thought she landed the harder cleaner shots. A draw would have probably been the best outcome.

  • Of all the silly things Tim Bradley has said for TR, I think “Forget your Hagler’s, Duran’s and Leonard’s give me Ryan-Mayer” might take the cake.

    • he probably had a boner at the time.

      I’m not attracted to muscular women, but these 2 are actually pretty hot.

  • Re: The 2024 Tonya Harding Paint Incident.

    I believe that Mikaela Mayer is innocent. And let’s all wake up. So was Tonya. Thank God for the movie to redeem Tonya.

    Congratulations to Mikaela on winning her 2nd division championship. Sandy, I am so sorry you had to deal with that. Unlike Haney & Mattress Harris, Sandy has a lot of class. Thank you, Sandy, for being an adult about this.

    • “Thank God for the movie to redeem Tonya.”
      – Revisionist history.
      – A made for TV movie had to redeem Tonya Harding?
      – I remember when she cried to the judges because her shoelaces came untied during her performance.
      – Now that’s funny……..

    • This is dead serious, Jeff Gilooly and Tanya Harding lived about two blocks down from house. I used to walk my dogs by their house pretty much every single day.

      Jeff was a really nice, outgoing, friendly guy. Tanya was a homebody and never seemed to be outside. When all that shit went down, it was a shock to everyone who knew Jeff.

  • The paint wasn’t even on her hair and face…so dumb. Born and raised and still live in city, Manhattan has gotten crazier than other boroughs. Homeless maniacs doing dumb shit attacking people. People getting stabbed busy streets daylight..I’ve been confronted 3 times since pandemic by who seemed to be mental patients. Just walk away, don’t say shit n don’t get stabbed.I thought it was ridiculous they made a deal of this. Paint on her hip is like a Nickelodeon tv show episode

  • I had Mayer winning 6-4 or 7-3. Was a great fight. I hope Ryan fight another champion cause she’s good.

  • Great ladies fight . A draw would have been ok too . A rematch would be great to see .

  • I know this doesn’t have anything to really do with the fight, but am I the only one that finds something about Mayer unlikeable? I really WANT to like her but every time I hear her speak she comes off as entitled. It’s not an arrogance, like she the best. I’m ok with that. It’s like she comes off like she’s owed something. I don’t necessarily cheer for her to lose, because I’m a fan of boxing not fighters. There’s only 2 or 3 fighter that cheer against, but there’s a few that I think have grating personalities and she one of them.

    • After the Baumgardner fight, I found her hard to take — acting like it was THE worst decision of all time — but that was the last time I had a problem with Mayer. She behaved differently after Jonas despite believing she had won that one as well, showing some maturity, so I don’t have any issues with Mikaela Mayer’s attitude these days and I’m glad she won.

      • I don’t know even after this fight she’s acting like she won by shut out and is refusing to give her a rematch.

    • IMO, it’s because she has a large contract and thinks she’s the eternal A-side in a fight. I like her and will root for her, but I totally understand what you’re saying. And you’re right, it’s not so much an arrogance as much as it just feels self-centered.

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