WBO welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer (21-2-1, 5 KOs) used her superior size and power to dominate Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) in their rematch on Saturday night. She won a 10-round unanimous decision at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Mayer poured on the gas in the tenth, hurting Ryan with a left hook, and flurrying on her in the first minute of the round. However, Mayer gassed out, and Ryan controlled the last minute.
The scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 98-92. Boxing News 24 scored it for Mayer 97-93. It was as entertaining as the first one because Mayer was too big for Ryan. Hopefully, this is the last time they fight because it’s not interesting seeing these two fight anymore.
Undercard Results
– WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) crushed challenger Derrieck Cuevas (27-2-1, 19 KOs), knocking him out in the third round. Norman Jr. landed a left hook to head to stagger Cuevas in the third. Moments later, Brian Jr. followed up with another big left hook that sent Cuevas falling backwards to the canvas. After he got back up, he wasn’t listening to the referee’s commands to turn towards him. Instead, Cuevas walked to the corner, as if he was disoriented or quitting. The referee, Thomas Taylor, then halted the contest. The time of the stoppage was 2:59 in the third.
“It was a great opponent. He’s never been stopped. Look what I did to him,” said Norman. “It’s the Brian Norman show. He ain’t never fought me. I want one of these belts [for a unification fight]. After y’all fight, I’m right here. You saw what I did to this dude. I can do the same thing,” said Norman Jr. about wanting to fight the winner of the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis welterweight unification fight on April 12th.
– Unbeaten featherweight contender Bruce Carrington (16-0, 9 KOs) knocked out an overmatched Enrique Vivas (23-4, 12 KOs) in the third round. Carrington was teeing off on the defenseless, shaky-looking Vivas in the third round, prompting referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the contest because nothing was being thrown back. The time of the stoppage was 53 seconds into the third round. Carrrington had dropped Vivas in round two with a right to the head. It was a miracle that Vivas made it out of the round without getting knocked out. Interestingly, he had Carrington trapped against the ropes moments before and was throwing nonstop punches without any care about his defense. Carrington, 27, took advantage of Vivas being squared up and dropped him with a short right hand.
– Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) destroyed Giovannie Gonzalez (20-8-2, 15 KOs), stopping him in the second round of a scheduled eight-round bout in light welterweight action. Vargas, 20, the son of former junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, flattened Gonzalez, 35, with a big left hook to the head. The referee then halted the fight immediately at 2:08 of round two. Gonzalez was flat on his back and in no condition to get up and continue fighting.
– Welterweight prospect Delante ‘Tiger’ Johnson (15-0, 7 KOs) knocked out veteran Kendo Castenada (21-9, 9 KOs) in the fifth round in his debut at 147. The 2020 U.S Olympian Tiger Johnson, 26, dropped Casteneda twice with body shots in the fifth round. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. halted the contest after the second knockdown. The time of the stoppage was at the 2:00 mark. Johnson had hurt Kendo with a right to the solar plexuses late in the fourth round but had failed to capitalize on it. In between rounds, Tiger’s corner told him to focus on the body in the fifth round. That’s exactly what he did.
Tiger still looks small for the 147-lb division, and it’s difficult to predict him doing well against the likes of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or Brian Norman Jr. Those guys are too big and powerful for him.
