Mikaela Mayer: Reborn in the USA
"Sandy is fucked." A brutal answer to a simple question.
How is training camp going? That was all I asked Mikaela Mayer. Three words that say plenty as to where Mayer is right now as she starts her new beginning.
"Sandy Ryan won't be pushing me from side to side. We all know that I am the bully here." A different attitude for a new challenge. And one that carries a little bit of a personal grudge.
On September 27th, Mayer will challenge Sandy Ryan for her WBO world welterweight title. They will fight for that alphabet bauble. A title that will give Mayer leverage and control of her career. But it also carries a little deeper meaning.
Mayer once had Kay Koroma in her inner circle. Now Koroma trains Ryan.
"There is a rivalry between us both. It will be built up around that she took my coach. But he was trying to double-dip, and I wasn't ok with that." Mayer says of why she had to cut Koroma loose.
There is now a new member of the Mikaela Mayer team. Kofi Jantuah replaces Koroma. But the ever-present Al Mitchell is still very much part of that team.
"Kofi has already elevated my game so much, and he will have me ready. I just feel he is the missing ticket that I needed, and Coach Al is still my head coach. Coach Al is such a brilliant strategist. We are now a much stronger team.
"At the end of the day, it was a blessing in disguise because Kofi is a hundred times a better coach. I am learning so much.
It's that elevation that makes Mayer excited about her fight with Ryan. A reborn fighter and one that will return to home territory after four straight fights in the UK. Home advantage could be crucial. After losing two wafer-thin points decisions on UK soil, home comforts will be welcomed. But you sense Mayer is excited about many things as her fight with Ryan edges closer and closer. A new coach. A brand new mindset.
"Kofi is amazing. This is seriously the best I have ever felt," the former unified world super-featherweight champion told me. It might not be a complete reconstruction, but Mayer has, in many ways, gone back to basics. A return to her boxing skills. Developing more power into her shots. A little facet that probably excites Mayer more than anything else.
There is a glint in her eye. An extra bit of menace in her words. "I want to hurt Sandy. I really do, I want to hurt her." It might not quite reach the venom her rivalry with Alycia Baumgardner reached back in 2022, but it might come close as the first bell nears. The devil in Mikaela Mayer has returned. Reborn and ready to be a world champion once again.
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