Mikaela Mayer is venturing into a greater weight class to check out the possibilities of transferring to the welterweight department. Mayer, a previous champ in the junior light-weight classification, will deal with fairly unidentified Silvia Bortot in a 10-round junior welterweight bout (142-pound catchweight) as the co-main occasion of the Liam Smith-Chris Eubank Jr. rematch at AO Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday (ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET).
Mayer (18-1, 5 KOs), coming from Colorado Springs, protected the WBO junior light-weight title with a unanimous choice win over Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020. She even more merged the IBF belt by beating Maiva Hamadouche, once again through a unanimous choice, a year later on. Following an effective defense against Jennifer Han, Mayer suffered a split choice loss to Alycia Baumgardner in October. In her last bout in April, Mayer went up to the light-weight department and emerged triumphant against Lucy Wildheart.
“I had a fun time in the 130-pound department and I’m pleased with my achievements, however I think it’s time for a brand-new chapter,” Mayer revealed when the fight was formally revealed. “I wish to integrate my experience with my size and see what I can accomplish. This fight is at 142 pounds, however I have my sights set on the 147-pound department, which is warming up in ladies’s boxing, which’s where I’m headed.”
In the welterweight department, the 4 significant titles are presently held by Jessica McCaskill, Natasha Jonas, and Sandy Ryan. Mayer thinks a fight against Jonas would make good sense for her.
“I believe [Jonas] is the most sensible challenger at this minute…”, Mayer specified. “I think Natasha Jonas and I would produce an amazing fight. She’s an identified champ and, at this phase of her profession, she likewise desires huge battles, so I’m enthusiastic we can make it take place.”
Bortot (11-2-2, 3 KOs), from Italy, has a record of 3-2 with 1 KO in her last 5 battles, however her triumphes have actually come against challengers with an integrated record of 19 wins and 110 losses. In May, she suffered a split choice loss to Flora Pili.
“I had a severe cars and truck mishap prior to the May 2023 match and thankfully, I got away with very little damage,” Bortot shown ESPN by means of e-mail. “After the May fight, I thought about retiring from boxing to concentrate on my training and pursue my enthusiasm for CrossFit, where I intend to accomplish a Level 1 accreditation.”
Bortot, 38, pointed out that she didn’t have enough time to appropriately get ready for the fight against Mayer due to the brief notification.
“I learnt about the fight less than a month earlier, so I needed to prepare myself in this quick duration,” Bortot discussed. “Fortunately, I was currently training for other competitors, unrelated to boxing, so I remained in excellent physical shape. Recently, I’ve been mostly concentrated on boxing, however I have not ignored my CrossFit, running, and yoga exercises. I likewise participated in mountain cycling and swimming [in preparation for the fight].”
Bortot has actually constantly been associated with battle sports, having actually completed in kickboxing and boxing in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Thailand.
Prior to her encounter with Mayer on Saturday, which will mark her very first telecasted fight in the United States, here are some crucial realities to understand about the opposition:
