Mayer Wins Rematch

Photo Mikey Williams/Top Rank

WBO welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs) defended her title in winning a unanimous decision over her arch nemesis Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) Saturday night at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Mayer controlled the action early on. Ryan landed big late in the fight. A clash of heads in the eighth opened a cut over Mayer’s left eye, Ryan kept coming throughout the fight. Ryan had a late rally but it wasnt enough as Mayer secured the victory. Scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 97-93.

Mayer said, “I sat on my shots more and committed to my hooks more. Those hooks were coming over the top. Sandy tends to stand straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.”

“I had been needing to move to welterweight for a long time. So, when I finally did, it just took a good, solid year and a half of hard work. This is where I’m comfortable, and this is where I should have been.”

“I beat Sandy Ryan twice. Now it’s time for me to move on and go for undisputed, which is against Lauren Price.

Norman KO's Cuevas to Retain Title

WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) made quick work of Puerto Rico's Derrieck Cuevas (27-2-1, 19 KOs). Trading early on Norman got the better of the exchanges. Norman rocked Cuevas with a left hook in the second round as he continued to land big shots. A left hook in the third dropped Cuevas as he got up but appeared to want no part as he failed to respond to referee Tom Taylor’s instructions, prompting the stoppage at 2:59.

Norman said, “I feel wonderful. I had a little ring rust to start off, but you saw that I shook that off real quick.”

“I was just getting back into it. I was out for 10 months. So, it was just about getting back into the field and being in front of everybody. As you saw, it wasn’t a struggle at all. Great opponent. Only has one defeat. And you saw what I did to him.”

“I want one of these {other} belts. I see them out here trying to make unification fights. Where’s my little piece at?”

Shu Shu Breaks Gets the Win

Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) was one win away from a title shot, and he made it count.

The WBC and WBO No. 1 featherweight contender handed Mexican warrior Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4, 12 KOs) his first stoppage defeat with a punishing third-round finish. Vivas tried to suffocate Carrington with pressure from the opening bell, walking him down and pinning him to the ropes, but the Brooklyn native stayed composed and turned the exchanges in his favor, answering with sharp uppercuts and hooks on the inside.

In the second, Carrington flipped the momentum with a quick three-piece—right hook, left hook, right hook—that dropped Vivas. He poured it on with more offense, but Vivas survived the round.

By the third, Vivas’ legs were gone. After Carrington landed a few clean shots, Vivas began to retreat, prompting referee Raul Caiz Jr. to step in and stop the fight at :53.

Carrington said. "Every fight is not going to be a knockout, but I’m always performing and do what I have to do."

"I just saw him opening up. He was doing exactly what I wanted him to do. That was part of the game plan. I wanted him to feel comfortable and open up. And then I was just going to get my shots on the inside and get him out of there."

"Nick Ball? Yeah, I want that. Stephen Fulton? Yeah, I want that. Let’s get this work in. I want all of ya’ll."

Junior Welterweight: Emiliano Fernando Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) returned from an injured left hand and put that hand to brutal use, scoring a highlight-reel second-round knockout over Giovannie Gonzalez (20-8-2, 15 KOs). After flashing his speed, Vargas closed in, countered a jab with a right uppercut, then ripped rights around the guard before ending it with a left hook at 2:08.

Welterweight: In his debut in a new division, Tiger Johnson (15-0, 7 KOs) halted Kendo Castañeda (21-9, 9 KOs) in the fifth round. Johnson was catching and shooting early, but a counter right uppercut to the solar plexus in the fourth hurt Castañeda. He went back to the body in the fifth, scoring a knockdown with another shot to the same spot before a final flurry ended the fight. Time of stoppage: 2:00.

Junior Lightweight: Dedrick Crocklem (2-0, 2 KOs), the latest fistic phenom out of Tacoma, Washington, scored a first-round TKO against Dionne Ruvalcaba (2-1, 1 KO), overwhelming him with relentless pressure and crisp counters to the body before referee Robert Hoyle stepped in at 2:50.

Bantamweight: Top Rank has a new Mannie. Emmanuel Chance (1-0) had a sterling pro debut, boxing circles around Miguel Guzman (1-1, 1 KO) en route to a clear points win. The 18-year-old Chance, from East Orange, New Jersey, was an amateur sensation before signing a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank. Scores: 40-36 3x.