Mikaela Mayer: A New Beginning

Mikaela Mayer: A New Beginning

In many ways, this Saturday night is a new beginning for Mikaela Mayer.

The last few months have been incredibly difficult for Mayer. Trying to process what went wrong last time out. A decision many believed was the wrong one, the weight of public opinion changes nothing. And helps even less. Mayer had to find herself again. It took time. But eventually, Mayer found what she was looking for.

Mayer begins her lightweight campaign against Christina Linardatou at the Copper Box in London. The American will hope victory over Linardatou will force her way into a mandatory position with at least one of the governing bodies. A position she will almost certainly need if she wants to gatecrash the Katie Taylor party. High risk, low reward, Mayer knows she will not be invited in without a ticket that mandates her entry.

Linardatou is an inspired choice in many respects. The Greek fighter is a former two-time WBO junior-welterweight champion and is the only fighter to defeat Alycia Baumgardner. Mayer has no intention of letting the flames of that once-in-a-lifetime rivalry burn out easily. But unless the wind changes significantly in the coming months, that much-anticipated rematch is highly unlikely to happen in 2023. With plans to fight again in the summer back in her homeland, Mayer has her own path now, and Baumgardner isn’t part of those immediate plans. With her fellow American not entertaining a rematch in the short term, Mayer has simply moved on.

But Linardatou is far more than a little bit of clever trolling in the Baumgardne/Mayer feud. Her only defeats are at the hands of Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon. The loss to Taylor in 2019 was close enough for some debate. Linardatou claimed she was robbed. She wasn’t, but she demonstrated enough to indicate the 1/16 odds of a Mayer victory are more than a little wide of the mark. Victory on Saturday night is by no means a formality for Mayer.

Linardatou will bring ambition and aggression to London, and will certainly be a true test for Mayer who will look to bounce back from her first professional reversal last October against her most heated rival which also cost Mayer her unified super-featherweight world titles.

Mayer boxed to orders and with great discipline against Baumgardner and can quite rightly feel aggrieved the decision didn’t go her way. A lot was said about the slow start, but after four rounds, I had Mayer even at the very worst. And most of the later rounds went her way. Or at least, should have. If you want to be overly critical you could argue that Mayer could have done a little more to remove any doubt in the judges’ eyes. But if you are being told you are winning doing what you are doing, and you believe that also, then why would you change from that and force the action and potentially put yourself in imminent danger against a big puncher like Baumgardner. No matter how many times I watch that fight back I can’t make any kind of a case for Mayer losing. Too many times judges hide behind subjectivity. They are paid to find the rightful winner of each round no matter how close that round is. Fighters should not have to second guess what a judge is looking for. Mayer has said she will fight differently now because of what happened last October.

It is a dilemma and a mental scar that will likely carry for the rest of her career. Something which Mayer has since conceded.

“It does make me feel that I will never let that happen again. I don’t care if I think I am winning by a mile I am going to continue to put my foot on the gas. It is a reminder that you never know what the judges are seeing. I am going into this next fight hungrier and wiser.” Mayer told me earlier this year. Saturday night will be the first test of her new mindset.

Losing to Baumgardner doesn’t really change much in the grand scheme of things for Mayer going forward. Even with a win last October, Mayer would likely be in the very same position she is right now. The American has outgrown the super-featherweight division, and a move to lightweight has always been her plan. I believe we will see a much better version of Mayer at the higher weights. Mayer looks healthier and physically so much stronger at 135. She has said her best weight might be at 140 and is already targeting a fight with Chantelle Cameron. Both have indicated they would be willing to share a ring together. Mayer could quite easily get Cameron before Taylor.

With a chip on her shoulder and a point to prove Mayer will look to make a statement against Linardatou in London. The narrative around her opponent being the only fighter to have defeated Baumgardner is only part of the story.

Linardatou will make Mayer work, and couple that with an aggrieved fighter, the fight is unlikely to disappoint. In truth, it is likely to steal the show. It might not quite reach the heights of Mayer’s fight against Maïva Hamadouche. But it could come close.

Those 1/16 odds might flatter somewhat, but Mayer is quite rightly the betting favourite. Linardatou has to be respected, and a win changes plenty for her career. Make no mistake, she isn’t here just to make up the numbers. Both deserve plaudits for taking this fight. Mayer, especially, could have taken a different and far safer route.

Mayer knows she can’t afford another defeat, and this time, I suspect she will leave nothing to chance.