Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) defeated l Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) by majority decision in winning the WBO welterweight title Friday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In what was a hard fought decision Mayer battled it out with Ryan in going the distance and defeateing Ryan as the judges scored the bout 97-93 and 96-94, overruling one judge’s 95-95 draw.
"It was similar to how I thought it would go. I always said before that I respected Sandy as a boxer. She has a big pedigree, just like myself, but I knew I was gonna beat her to the punch. I knew I was faster. I knew I was sharper. And that's exactly what I did," Mayer said.
“I picked it up halfway through the fight, like I always do. I always turn it on in that second half of the fight. And she just couldn't handle my timing. So, I felt like I won the fight, and I'm just glad I got the right decision this time.
“I want to finish what I started and go undisputed. I came very close at junior lightweight. But my body outgrew that weight. I'm comfortable now. I feel like I'm stronger than ever. I’m still in my prime, as you can see. So I'm coming for the other champions.”
Ryan said, "I'm obviously disappointed, and I'm not taking nothing away from the decision. But before coming to the venue, I don't know if you guys seen, but I had a hit and run {with paint outside the hotel}. And that was definitely set up. I'm not taking nothing away from the win, but it unsettled me.
"It threw me off a bit of my game plan because I just wanted to fight. And you saw at the start of the fight, I was handling her quite well on the jab. I was boxing her and then I started to pick it up. But then, I was obviously pushing it too hard.
“It's nice to fight in America again. But I just don't like the circumstances that happened to me before the fight. But I can't take nothing away from that. It is what it is.”
Puerto Rican junior middleweight Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Damian Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs). All three judges scored the bout 100-90.
“Man, they said he throws 84 punches per round. I didn't see that today. I did my job. Now, I just have to be calm, relax, and see what my promoter wants. I want whoever is in the top five.”
Featherweight Bruce Carrington (13-0, 8 KO's) of Brooklyn won a hard-fought 10-round majority decision over Uganda's Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KO's). Scores were 95-95 and 97-93 2x.
Carrington said, "I owe him a lot {for that education tonight}. This is just gonna get me to the next level. I just learned to deal with the off-tempo. I got a couple of things I gotta work on back in the gym. We gotta get back on our beat and have more dominant performances. But as long as we got the ‘W’ at the end of the day, we’re still good.”
Other BOUTS
Junior Middleweight: New Jersey’s Vito Mielnicki Jr. (20-1, 12 KOs) made his MSG debut winning a majority decision against Italy’s Khalil El Harraz (16-6-1, 2 KOs). Mielnicki tried to keep the fight at a distance, but El Harraz closed the gap often. When the action moved inside, Mielnicki responded with well-placed body shots to maintain control. Scores: 95-95, 100-90, and 98-92.
Bantamweight: Floyd Diaz (13-0, 3 KOs) won an eight round decision over Mario Hernandez (12-5-1, 4 KOs). Diaz connected with counter jabs and check left hooks to keep the aggressive Hernandez at bay before flooring him in the fifth with a perfectly timed right uppercut. Diaz went for the finish, but the resilient Mexican veteran held on until the final bell. Scores: 78-73 2x and 77-74.
Junior Welterweight: Dominican southpaw Elvis Rodriguez (17-1-1, 13 KOs) secured a commanding unanimous 10-round points win over Kendo Castañeda (21-7, 9 KOs). Rodriguez took charge of the fight with body shots in the fourth round, followed by flurries of power punches in the fifth that caused a cut above Castaneda’s left eye. Scores: 100-90 2x and 99-91.
Junior Welterweight: Tiger Johnson (14-0, 6 KOs) overcame his most formidable challenge yet, earning an eight-round unanimous decision against Puerto Rico's Yomar Alamo (22-3-1, 13 KOs). Johnson managed Alamo’s awkward style with footwork and clinching, landing sharp counters from the outside. Scores: 78-74 2x and 77-75.
Junior Welterweight: Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco (14-0, 9 KOs) halted Argentine veteran Marcelino Lopez (37-5-1, 22 KOs) in the sixth round. Polanco handed Lopez the first knockdown of his 17-year career with a sharp right uppercut in the third. Lopez survived, but Polanco forced him to take a knee twice in the sixth, leading referee Eddie Claudio to stop the contest at 2:08.
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