Mikaela Mayer vs Sandy Ryan 2 Fight Results: Mayer Earns UD

Much was riding on the rematch between WBO welterweight champion Mayer and the woman from whom she took the belt, Ryan. A win for Mayer would close the book on Ryan and allow her to move on to Lauren Price and bring all the welterweight belts under one champion. In contrast, a result ending in Ryan taking her title back could have led to a third chapter in their genuinely heated rivalry.

The hate between Mayer and Ryan runs deep. Before their first fight last September (a fight of the year candidate), when Mayer scored a split decision victory to take the WBO belt from Ryan. There was an incident pre-fight where Ryan had red paint thrown on her leaving her hotel before the bout. Rumors swirled (mainly coming from Ryan’s camp) that Mayer may have had something to do with the Jackson Pollock-like splattering of her British opponent, but no evidence has been produced to suggest Mayer had anything to do with the assault. On top of that, Mayer’s longtime trainer, Kay Koroma, was in Ryan’s corner tonight. The bad blood was all around the ring and in it as Mayer took to the ring with a cheeky “Red Paint” logo on her shorts.

Mayer, now 34, is nearing a crossroads in her fighting career. The former 2012 Olympic Silver medalist had lost two of her previous four fights (to Alycia Baumgardner and Natasha Jonas) by split decision, and her first win over Ryan was by a majority decision. In short, Mayer, who once looked like the future face of women’s boxing, is running out of time, and her lack of recent dominance in the ring has not been helpful to her cause. Mayer was far less active in her two losses than in her slugfest with Ryan in their first fight. She was even better tonight. Mayer’s body seems to have grown into the weight class. There has never been a question about her skill or pedigree, but against Baumgardner, she took rounds off. None of that happened against Ryan. This was a near-dominant performance by Mayer, and suddenly, the future looks very bright again for Mikaela Mayer.

WBO Welterweight Champion Brian Norman Jr. Has Officially Arrived

Undefeated WBO welterweight belt holder Brian Norman Jr, the youngest titleholder in men’s boxing at 24 (27-0, 21 KOs), in his first title defense, delivered a spectacular performance in defeating very tough opponent Derrieck Cuevas by third-round TKO.

Cuevas, who had never been knocked down before, looked strong and quick in the first round, but late in the second, Norman Jr. landed a left hook that sent Cuvas on a backward stumbler, yet somehow, he kept his feet and finished the round. In an almost instant replay of the last round, Norman Jr. landed another massive left hook near the end of the round, only this time, Cuevas went sprawling into the corner. While Cuvas beat the count, he made it clear to the referee that he was done, and the fight was waved off with just seconds to go in the third.

Coming off his stunning tenth-round TKO over the then-undefeated Giovani Santillan last May, the question surrounding Brian Norman Jr. went from, “How good is he?” to “How good can he be?” Norman Jr. was an underdog against Santillan, coming off a “No Contest” result against Janelson Figueroa Bocachica just two fights before, which ended due to cuts suffered by both fighters due to accidental headbutts. While the fight only went three full rounds, Norman got dropped by Bocachica in the first round, and at no time did Norman Jr. look like a future champion. After tonight, we have a new question regarding Norman Jr.: “Is he the best fighter in the welterweight division?”

Paging Jaron “Boots” Ennis…

Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Makes A Huge Statement

Undefeated and WBC/WBO #1 ranked contender Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) needed a win over Enrique Vivas (23-4, 12 KOs) to get a shot at the featherweight title (likely against Nick Ball). Carrington started out slow, but once he turned up his motor, he got what he wanted with a third round TKO win over the brave Enrique Vivas. Vivas was competitive early, landing some solid combinations before Carrington landed a three-punch combination that put Vivas on his back in the second. The fact that Vivas survived the round was remarkable, if foolhardy. Carrington continued his dominance over Vivas in the third round, forcing referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the fight and save Vivas from his own courage. Vivas had never been stopped before, and all three of his losses were against top-flight competition.

Carrington should get his shot now, whether against Ball, Stephen Fulton, or another belt holder, and boy, is he easy to root for. Not only is he an entertaining fighter and a charming young man, but the pre-fight featurette on his harrowing early life in Brownsville, Brooklyn, was a clincher. A young man who grew up in a hard neighborhood and had his sickle-cell-afflicted brother murdered by an assailant while his hands were in the air ( holding the cane he needed to walk with) sure tugged at the heartstrings. “Shu Shu” isn’t just one hell of a fighter; he’s one hell of a story, too.

Undercard Results

Super Lightweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs), son of former super welterweight champion Fernando–who also serves as Emiliano’s trainer–defeated Giovannie Gonzalez (20-8-2, 15 KOs) with a dominating second-round one-punch TKO, via a huge left hook, that could be felt from Las Vegas to Vargas’ home country of Mexico. Vargas dominated the fight from the first second and closed the show with real panache. Varga is a prospect worth watching.

Potential contender Delante “Tiger” Johnson (14-0, 7 KOs) made a successful debut as a welterweight against journeyman Kendo Castaneda (21-9, 9 KOs) with a fifth-round TKO victory. Johnson hurt Castaneda in both the second and the fourth rounds but wasn’t able to capitalize in either round. However, in the fifth round, Johnson sent Castaneda to the canvas twice with several vicious body shots, resulting in the referee waving off the fight immediately after Castaneda took a knee for a second time.

Team USA prospect Dedrick Crocklem (2-0, 2 KOs) impressed by overmatching fellow super featherweight Dionne Ruvalcaba (2-2, 1 KO) and winning by a second-round TKO that was a far too generous call by the referee in favor of Crocklem. While the chances of Ruvalcaba winning the fight were somewhere between “Slim and none” (and Slim just died), he was not hurt or in anything approaching big trouble when the fight was stopped. Barring a miracle, Crocklem was going to win the fight, but Ruvalcaba had his one-in-a-million shot taken from him by an overzealous referee.

Amateur standout Emmanuel Chance (1-0) made a successful pro debut by shutting out Miguel Guzman (1-1, 1 KO) 40-36 on all three scorecards of their four-round bantamweight bout.