Rhiannon Dixon (left) takes a punch from Terri Harper (proper) throughout their light-weight bout on Sept. 28, 2024 – Photograph by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Probably the greatest weeks for ladies’s boxing this yr occurred final week, when at least three main televised playing cards had been headlined by feminine fighters.
On Friday, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan clashed for what would in the end be the perfect battle of the weekend. It was a traditional duel between energy and pace, and Mayer’s footwork and hand pace lastly received the day. It was a detailed affair that warrants a rematch, particularly because it’s an ideal match for each of them given the funding in trash discuss that they put in in the course of the pre-fight hype.
Because of this victory, Mayer was proposed to grow to be the brand new No. 2 at welterweight, swapping locations with Ryan who now goes to No. 3.
“The battle between Mayer and Ryan was very shut, however I feel Mayer was the slight winner, though the playing cards in her favor ought to have been nearer,” mentioned Irene Deserti, editor of Rincon Rojo journal. Her emotions had been echoed by radio host Cynthia Conte, who mentioned that “it was a really shut battle and will have a rematch. They’d throw down once more and there can be numerous cash behind a rematch.”
Others expressed doubts. “I assumed Mayer defeated Baumgardner and Jonas earlier in her profession, however she wanted to do extra to take the titles from Ryan,” mentioned columnist Mark Jones. “Ryan received that battle though her nook workforce was amateurs and did her no favors. The battle ought to’ve been canceled after an unknown assailant threw paint on her whereas leaving the resort,” mentioned the author, in reference to an incident that was undoubtedly not addressed correctly by the powers behind the battle.
“It was an ideal pleasure to see such a high quality battle between Mayer and Ryan,” mentioned Japanese author Yuriko Miyata. “Each gave all of it they’ve, and I noticed Ryan received shut regardless of that incident.” Boxing historian Malissa Smith, who was in attendance for the battle, mentioned that “Mayer was crisp together with her execution, whereas Ryan was capable of assert her energy within the later rounds, although I felt that Mayer’s ft and slick use of the uppercut gave her the sting within the scoring.”
On Saturday, we noticed a horrible ending for what was shaping up as a demolition for Alycia Baumgardner, who confirmed no indicators of ring rust and went straight to the neck of the already legendary Delfine Persoon in a 130-pound conflict. An unintentional reduce on Persoon pressured the battle to be declared a no-contest, nevertheless it was clear that Ring champ Baumgardner was on her approach to a transparent win.
As a consequence of this end result, Baumgardner stays Ring champion and Persoon stays at No. 1 in an in any other case weak division.
“Baumgardner regarded good on her return to motion, and I feel she has no rivals of her stature within the junior light-weight division,” mentioned author and TV producer Yesica Palmetta.
“Persoon is 100% a future Corridor of Fame inductee, however she ought to retire,” added Jones. “Since her battle with Katie Taylor 5 years in the past, she’s been struggling cuts and swelling because of eroding reflexes. That mentioned, Baumgardner regarded good and deserving of her placement on the pound-for-pound rankings.”
“Powerful break for Baumgardner, who was within the means of a sure-fire stoppage win over a past-her-prime Persoon,” mentioned author Christopher Benedict. “Too many battles over too lengthy a time frame have taken too massive a toll on the Belgian warrior. As Mark urged, it’s time for her to hold up the gloves and begin writing her Corridor of Fame speech.”
Sandy Ryan (proper) and Mikaela Mayer (left) commerce blows throughout their welterweight title bout – Photograph by Mikey Williams
In one other extraordinary battle, Terri Harper was the clearest winner of all three main occasions when she defeated fellow Brit Rhiannon Dixon in a bragging rights warfare for pleasure and nation. Naturally taller and stronger, Harper was the slight favourite and she or he made good use of her benefits to maintain Dixon at bay and rating sufficient factors to safe a stable win in a light-weight battle.
Harper, not rated at 135, is available in at No. 2, displacing Dixon to No. 4 and pushing Germany’s Beke Bas out of the High 5.
“I actually preferred Harper’s efficiency,” mentioned Palmetta. “She regarded excellent at 135 kilos. I feel Dixon was annulled by the energy that characterizes Harper.”
Conte agreed by saying that “Harper regarded nice combating off her again foot towards Dixon. Each landed properly however Harper simply regarded distinctive. Glad she moved again down.”
“I do know I wasn’t alone in suspecting that the beatdown Terri Harper obtained by the hands of Sandy Ryan again in March can be extraordinarily tough for the ‘Belter’ to rebound from,” added Benedict, “however my hat is off to Harper for placing on a terrific efficiency on Saturday, handing Rhiannon Dixon her first defeat and taking her belt to grow to be a three-division world champion.”
Since Harper was beforehand rated at 154-pounds, the scores in that division needed to be altered. Everybody moved up one place, and Canada’s Mary Spencer was picked to grow to be the brand new No. 5, returning as soon as once more to our scores.
Diego M. Morilla has been writing for The Ring since 2013. He has additionally written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and lots of different magazines, web sites, newspapers and shops since 1993. He’s a full member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and an elector for the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. He has received two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Ladies’s Scores Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is presently a author and editor for RingTV.com.
