Mikaela Mayer Eyes Taylor v Serrano Winner If Frozen Out at 130
Since the beginning of her career, Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) wanted to be a trendsetter and go down as an all-time great in women’s boxing. On April 9, the 31-year-old resident of Los Angeles defended the WBO and IBF women’s junior lightweight belts with a decisive unanimous decision win over former world featherweight champ Jennifer Han (18-5-1, 1 KOs).
After adjusting to the shorter Han in the early rounds, Mayer used her outstanding jab and left hook to bloody Han’s nose. Overall, it was a decisive and dominant performance. One of Mayer’s goals is to become undisputed women’s junior lightweight champion. She wants fights with WBA champion Hyun Mi-Choi and WBC champ Alycia Baumgardner. After the win over Han, the unified champ reiterated that goal but left the door open to other opportunities.
LEAVING HER OPTIONS OPEN
“I’ve been pretty clear that I want to go undisputed at 130. Baumgardner and Choi, I’ve been calling them out. I want (either) fight, but if they’re not going to give me that fight in a timely fashion, I’m game to go up and challenge the winner of (Amanda) Serrano versus (Katie) Taylor.”
The women’s 130-pound division is one of the best divisions in the sport. There’s a rivalry between Mayer and Baumgardner. They’ve talked about wanting to fight one another and have traded verbal shots toward each other on social media. But no serious negotiations have begun for a match between the two. Baumgardner will face Edith Matthysse on April 16, followed by what she claims is a unification bout with Choi later this year. This would leave Mayer out of the loop.
So, you can understand why she has eyes on facing the winner of the April 30 super-fight between undisputed lightweight champ Taylor and unified featherweight champ Serrano. That bout is the biggest fight in women’s boxing in years. They are each set to make at least a million dollars. Mayer is not dumb. There’s money in facing the winner. Plus, she has the size and skill to compete with either woman. If she feels frozen out, that is the most sensible and lucrative alternative.
Whatever she decides to do next, Mayer is good enough to compete with anyone at 130 and 135. Having signed an extension with her promoter, Top Rank, the uber-confident fighter has the backing of a major player in the sport. Plus, she is a unified champ and seems to be a favorite of the ESPN/Top Rank boxing brass. What’s now left is whether she gets the fights she truly wants. Only time will tell if that happens.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
