Mikaela Mayer: “I want to beat Mary Spencer and take her belt and become a three-division world champion, and then drop back to 147 and get that fight done with Lauren Price.”

Mikaela Mayer: “I want to beat Mary Spencer and take her belt and become a three-division world champion, and then drop back to 147 and get that fight done with Lauren Price.”

Mikaela Mayer has been in a state of limbo since March, when she emphatically removed all doubt in that beyond intense rivalry with Sandy Ryan. The natural fight for the WBO world welterweight champion was with Lauren Price, who holds all of the remaining sanctioning bodies’ baubles. A fight for undisputed status at 147. In truth, that fight should have already happened. A deal was agreed for the pair to fight in July on the last night of the Top Rank/ESPN deal. But one side reportedly went back for more money. Time elapsed. Eventually, the date and the fight were lost. In many ways, a missed opportunity.

Top Rank is yet to secure another TV deal. Mayer had to sit and wait or explore other options. Mayer decided sitting around wasn’t for her, and on October 30th in Montreal, she will travel to Canada to challenge Mary Spencer for her WBA world super-welterweight championship.

“It was in the works for a little bit because it was the only real option that we had,” Mayer told me over Zoom. “After we couldn’t get anyone at 147, because of the whole network deal issues, and we wouldn’t get the money we deserved. It was my idea to then look at 154. I want to stay strong for 147, and the girls at 154 were a little more readily available. There was Ema Kozin, but she is scheduled to fight Cecilia Braekhus in October. There is also Oshae Jones, who is one of my best friends. If I have to fight Oshae, at least fight her for undisputed. But then there was Mary Spencer, and Top Rank really liked her.”

Spencer has been known to Mayer for a number of years. “The first time I went to Canada in 2012, she had the big name. When Claressa Shields first came on the scene, we were on the American team together. Claressa beat Mary; it was quite a big deal for this young girl to beat Mary Spencer.”

Mayer has advanced rapidly up the weights since leaving the super-featherweight ranks behind a few years ago. The body has filled out, and Mayer now looks like a reborn fighter at welterweight. But Mary Spencer, a naturally bigger fighter, will pose a different set of problems for Mayer. But despite the obvious size disadvantages, Mayer is nevertheless confident that a world title in a third weight division will come her way in October.

“I’ve looked her up; she’s obviously a big girl with long arms,” Mayer says of her opponent. “But I don’t think she’s as sharp as me. I feel like I am on point and getting sharper every day. It will be a different fight because she is experienced. I just think I am sharper and faster, and my punch count is higher.

“I will be the smaller fighter, but my coach said, “Don’t worry about it.” He’s got me turning into my shots more, I am punching harder than ever, and I have never been worried about getting hit. Weight doesn’t win fights. Skill does.”

October will see Mayer enter a new world at 154, but thoughts of going undisputed in her current weight division are still very much her priority for next year. “Ideally, I want to beat Mary Spencer and take her belt and become a three-division world champion, and then drop back to 147 and get that fight done with Lauren Price. Hopefully, by then, this fight will give us some time, and Top Rank will get their TV deal sorted out, and we can get some big bucks for it.”

A fight between Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron has been mooted several times previously. Mayer and Cameron have talked privately about sharing a ring together, and if everything plays out as planned, that proposed fight will finally become a reality at some point in the next twelve months.

“Chantelle will get her shot at the world title, and by the time I have done with Lauren Price, I can head down to 140,” Mayer relayed to me. “My ideal 2026 would be to fight Lauren Price for undisputed at 147 and then fight Chantelle at 140, hopefully for undisputed at that weight also.”

At 35, Mayer could be heading into the golden period of her career. The likes of Katie Taylor and even Claressa Shields are possibilities for Mayer. But far more likely, at least for 2026, are fights with Lauren Price and Chantelle Cameron. Mary Spencer can’t be overlooked, of course, but if Mayer does add that WBA super-welterweight bauble to her ever-increasing collection of world titles, the next twelve months could be the most rewarding of her already impressive career.

Mikaela Mayer could fight for another two years or more, and while retirement is nowhere in sight, Mayer knows how she wants her career to end. “If I fast-forward in my mind, I would want to end as a four-division world champion.”