Two-weight queen Mikaela Mayer and former champion Sandy Ryan are two days away from settling unfinished business.
Mayer will defend her WBO welterweight world title in a rematch against Ryan this Saturday, March 29, at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) edged Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) via split decision following a chaotic pre-fight buildup last September, sparking calls for an immediate rematch.
In the co-feature, Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) will make the inaugural defense of his WBO welterweight world championship against Puerto Rican challenger Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs).
Mayer-Ryan II and Norman-Cuevas will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and features Brooklyn-born featherweight phenom Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (14-0, 8 KOs), who faces Mexican slugger Jose Enrique Vivas (23-3, 12 KOs) in a 10-round WBC final eliminator.
U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson (14-0, 6 KOs) makes his welterweight debut against Kendo Castaneda (21-8, 9 KOs) in an eight-rounder, while junior welterweight Emiliano Fernando Vargas (12-0, 8 KOs) steps up against Giovannie Gonzalez (20-7-2, 15 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
This is what Mayer, Ryan, and Norman had to say at Thursday’s press conference:
Mikaela Mayer
“I am glad that she pulled through {in the first fight}. It’s disappointing that her team wasn’t as cool, calm, and collected as she was. Your team is supposed to hold you down and keep your mind right. So that was unfortunate, but she showed up and gave the fans a good fight. You’ve got to give her props for that.”
“I really feel great. I feel better than ever. Many people feel that at this stage of your career, it’s hard to make that much of a jump and develop or change much. But I really do feel that I’m better than ever. I’m stronger and healthy at welterweight. I’m not really cutting weight. All my little tweaks and injuries went away. And I’ve been able to put on muscle.”
“I’m sure she feels that {she will stop me}. I’m sure she felt that way in the last fight when she was saying that I’m not truly a welterweight. But I still sent her to the hospital with a concussion. If I did that then when I was new to welterweight, then I’m going to hurt her 10 times more this time around.”
Sandy Ryan
“I’ve worked hard. I’ve had a long camp here. I’m ready to make a difference on Saturday night.”
“I’m not taking anything away from Mikaela. She’s got the belt. I appreciate her accepting the rematch and making this fight. It’s what the fans wanted because it was a great first fight. But I’ll be taking that belt back.”
“I know that I’m a fighter. I would have never pulled out of the fight {after the paint incident}. I let people see what kind of person and fighter I am. Despite what they threw at me, I still got in there and put on a performance.”
“I need to just be me with no distractions. I need to be levelheaded and calm. That’s how I’m approaching this whole fight week and fight night.”
Brian Norman Jr.
“You’re not a real champion until you defend your title. And I’ve got a tough competitor ahead of me. I’m ready to prove myself.”
“It is a transition from targeting others to now being a target. So now it’s not about looking out anymore but more so about looking in at the man in the mirror and on what I need to work on. I now have nothing holding me back regarding injuries. I’m very well rested. I’ve got my mind together. I’ve got everything together. And now it’s just time to prove myself.”
“I hit hard. I got speed. I’m not going to get tired. I’ve got 12 rounds to beat you up if need be. You simply don’t have enough.”
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Boxing