It’s rematch time for Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan. Come weekend, on March 29, after a gap of six months, the two welterweights will once again face each other at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Mayer versus Ryan will headline the Top Rank card that will feature, among other fights, champion Brian Norman Jr.‘s first title defense.
Last year on September 27, at the Madison Square Garden Theater, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan squared off for the first time. Following a fiercely contested battle, a majority decision in her favor helped the American clinch Ryan’s WBO welterweight title. The event gained notoriety for the drama that unfolded outside. Ahead of the fight, pics of Ryan doused in paint grabbed major headlines. Now it’s time for them to put aside their differences and settle any lingering arguments.
Predicting Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan: Who has better stats and record?
As far as experience goes, Los Angeles-born Mayer seems to enjoy the upper hand. She made her professional debut a year after her dreams of winning an Olympic medal ended with the quarterfinal exit. Working her way up, in 2020, she became a world title holder for the first time. A year later, she unified the super featherweight division. In 2022, an attempt to increase the championship tally caved in when Alycia Baumgardner inflicted her first career defeat. Thereafter, she moved up a division and secured the interim lightweight title in 2023.
In January 2024, she fought former champion Natasha Jonas for the IBF welterweight title. But the move ended in yet another closely contested loss. Six months later, the Sandy Ryan fight followed. Thus far, only 5 out of Mayer’s 20 wins came via KOs. Thus, her overall knockout-to-win rate stands at 25%.
Sandy Ryan started her career relatively late. Debuting in 2021, she suffered her first defeat against Erica Frias a year later. However, brushing aside the setback, she rebounded and secured a regional light welterweight title. Then, in April 2023, moving up in weight, she finally became a world champion. A few months later, an attempt for the undisputed title, where she faced former champion Jessica McCaskill, ended in a split decision draw. She retained the WBO belt but eventually ceded it to Mikaela Mayer. With 3 out of her 7 wins secured through early stoppage, Sandy Ryan boasts a 45% knockout-to-win rate.
Mayer vs. Ryan: height, weight, reach comparison, and more
Both Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan share a similar height – 5 feet nine inches, or 175 centimeters. However, in terms of reach, the Derby-born Ryan enjoys a slight edge. Against her 69 inches or 174 centimeters, Mayer records a 66-and-a-half-inch or 169-centimeter reach.
During their last fight in New York, while Mayer recorded a weight of 146.8 pounds, Ryan tipped the scales at 146.6 pounds.
Match Prediction
Sandy Ryan hopes to regain the world championship once again. “The world will see a focused, determined, and talented fighter in the shape of her life, and I will reclaim my world title,” she told Sky Sports.
Their last fight was a tightly contested affair. Many believe, to avenge her second career loss, the English fighter will come in more focused. But that doesn’t mean the 36-year-old Mayer will make it easy. “I’ve never been one to shy away from challenges. I could have taken my belt and moved on, but it was a highly entertaining fight, and if this is what the fans want, then that’s what I’ll give them,” during the interview with Sky Sports, Mayer made her intentions clear.
She knows how Sandy Ryan fights and is fully aware of her strengths and weaknesses. To prepare for the upcoming showdown, Mayer must have made the necessary adjustments during fight camp.
Though it may change, with -120 odds favoring her to win, Sandy Ryan appears to have a 52% chance of winning against the underdog Mikaela Mayer, who will step in as the +100 underdog.
Do you think Mikaela Mayer can repeat last year’s performance against a charged-up Sandy Ryan?
The post Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan Comparison and Prediction: Record, Age, Height, Reach, Weight, and Knockout Ratio appeared first on EssentiallySports.
