Mikaela Mayer, Sandy Ryan targeting March 29 rematch after controversial first fight, paint attack

Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan are nearly set to run it back.

The Mayer vs. Ryan WBO welterweight title rematch is being targeted for March 29 at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, sources close to the situation told Uncrowned. The bout is expected to feature on a show promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank and be televised on ESPN in the U.S.

The pair delivered a Fight of the Year contender when they clashed at Madison Square Garden’s The Theatre in New York last September. On that occasion, the U.S.-based Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) edged a tight decision to dethrone Britain’s Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) of her WBO world title.

The night was shrouded in controversy, though not necessarily because of the scoring.

The build-up for the fight had already been heated, with a promotional angle centered around Mayer’s claims that Ryan had stolen her trainer, Kay Koroma, after Ryan relocated to Las Vegas to train with Flick Savoy in Koroma’s gym. Mayer was disappointed this was the case and chose to leave the gym and split with Koroma.

But things escalated when Ryan walked out of her hotel to travel to the arena for fight night and was promptly attacked with a can of red paint by an unidentified perpetrator — an attack Ryan believes was set up by Mayer’s team. Ryan was forced back into her hotel room to shower and change clothes before she resumed her journey to the arena.

The Brit was interviewed by ESPN when she arrived at Madison Square Garden and was visibly shaken by the random act. Her team advised her not to go through with the bout, but Ryan insisted on fighting; after all, fighters don’t get paid unless they enter the ring, and Ryan wasn’t willing to pull out from the biggest fight of her life.

Despite everything that happened that day, Ryan and Mayer still provided a slugfest.

Coupling the quality of the first fight with the controversy that preceded it, a rematch was the natural next step for both women and is now close to the finish line.

On March 7, Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price collide for the other three women’s welterweight championships. It’s likely that the winners of the two March welterweight title bouts will face each other for the undisputed crown later in 2025.