LAS VEGAS – The chance to face Lauren Price in an all-British showdown for the undisputed welterweight championship sounds good to Sandy Ryan.
Unfortunately, it just can’t happen next – not if the former WBO welterweight titlist successfully regains her crown this weekend.
Ryan, 7-2-1 (3 KOs), is brimming with confidence ahead of her anticipated rematch with Mikaela Mayer, 20-2 (5 KOs) – to the point that she has not just predicted but guaranteed a victory. For that to come true would also mean a trilogy with her fierce rival, which would put a showdown with Price, 9-0 (2 KOs) on the backburner for the moment.
“I believe – well, I know – when I win this fight, me and Mikaela are gonna get it on again,” Ryan told BoxingScene. “There’s gonna be a third fight. It’s in the contract.
“So whatever plans Lauren has – just hold on a little longer, Lauren.”
Mayer-Ryan II will headline a seven-fight card Saturday, and ESPN will air their scheduled 10-round title fight rematch from the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The grudge match comes six months after Mayer edged Ryan via majority decision last September 26 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The buildup was already contentious, most of which centered on trainer Kay Koroma taking on England’s Ryan as a client and eventually leaving Mayer’s camp just prior to their first meeting.
A fight week packed with drama somehow squeezed out even more on the night of their bout. Ryan was struck with a can of red paint while exiting her hotel en route to the fight venue, barely three hours before the opening bell.
Ryan, a 31-year-old from Derby, England, did her best to put the criminal act behind her and focus on the fight itself. She and Mayer left it all in the ring, their 10-round slugfest easily among the best fights of 2024.
Sadly for Ryan, it meant the end of her title reign, after just 18 months. In a fight in which many made the case that Ryan deserved the nod, none of the three judges scored more than five rounds in her favor.
The wait for the rematch was relatively brief and also comes just three weeks after Price’s lineal, Ring, WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight championship-unifying points win over Natasha Jonas on March 7 at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London.
Timing-wise, it would have set up the perfect scenario for an immediate path to undisputed. It could very well take place should Mayer retain her title, as she has been vocal about fighting Wales’ Price anywhere in the world (and likely in Cardiff if the fight does happen next).
Ryan’s version of how this year will play out is drastically different.
“Two wins in 2025 and three total against Mikaela,” Ryan quipped, subtly suggesting that the first fight should have gone her way.
With the timing of this bout and a quick enough trilogy, it could leave room for a full unification championship clash with Price before year’s end.
“Three fights would be so nice. I’m up for that; any fighter would be. I just leave that up to the team.”
So far, Ryan has stuck to her guns in remaining composed throughout fight week. The one tweak from the first fight that she plans to carry into the rematch is to not fight off emotion but rather her God-given talent.
With that, she also plans to stick to her own script for shaping up the rest of the year. There’s no doubt that the stakes for the fight with Price would create a dream scenario.
For now, it’s a little bit too far down the road to even consider.
“Lauren’s a great fighter. She knows I believe that as well,” stated Ryan. “We came up together in the amateurs and were on the Great Britain team. I respect her a lot.
“When we do fight, it’s going to be a great fight. She’s very talented and we’re both going to bring the heat. But that’s in the future. What’s now is what’s happening right now for me.”