Mikaela Mayer: The Perfect Fighter For Riyadh Season

Mikaela Mayer: The Perfect Fighter For Riyadh Season

When Turki Alalshikh posted the following, he was greeted with an avalanche of worthwhile applications to feature on his high-profile and extremely lucrative Riyadh Season cards.

‘From this point on, I don’t want to see any more Tom and Jerry-type boxing matches where one fighter is running around the ring and the other is chasing him. We can no longer support these kinds of fights with Riyadh Season and The Ring. We want to support fighters who leave it all in the ring and fight with heart and pride!’

The words can be dissected in many ways, but his feelings have been made abundantly clear after recent high-profile fights have underwhelmed somewhat.

Mikaela Mayer was one of those fighters who threw their names into the million-dollar hat. There are many reasons why her name should be near the top of the consideration list.

Riyadh Season hasn’t exactly welcomed women’s boxing with open arms. Only Skye Nicolson and Raven Chapman have graced such a card, and there has been little or no talk of another female fight following. In many ways, Mayer would be the perfect candidate to start the ball rolling for women’s boxing on Riyadh Season cards.

Mayer suggested a showdown with Lauren Price, which would be for undisputed status at welterweight. Mayer and Price are currently in contractual TV limbo. Their respective promoters Top Rank and Boxxer are currently locked in negotiations trying to lock down a new TV deal. The two fighters can’t secure an in-house fight until Top Rank and Boxxer announce which broadcaster will host their shows over the next few years. But a fight on a Riyadh Season card would remove that issue.

The WBO world welterweight champion would be the perfect fighter for Riyadh Season. Mayer has a fan-friendly style and has been a part of some of the greatest fights in the modern era of women’s boxing. Her fights with Maïva Hamadouche, Natasha Jonas, and her two beyond-brutal fights with Sandy Ryan demonstrate that she would fit the aforementioned Turki Alalshikh brief. In truth, his words could be taylor-made for Mikaela Mayer.

The undisputed clash with Lauren Price is the obvious fight to make, but a rematch with Natasha Jonas or a fight with the former undisputed world super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron are possible alternative options. The first Jonas-Mayer fight was recently awarded the IBF 2024 Fight of the Year, and Cameron has more than proved her credentials over the course of her career. In simple terms, either would work if a fight with Lauren Price can’t get over the line.

But either way, Mayer has plenty of options, and has she said to Turki Alalshikh in response to his online call-out, ‘Look no further.’