Mikaela Mayer has criticized Sandy Ryan for being “easily rattled” by a strange paint incident and has promised to expose her rival’s “fragile mentality” ahead of their upcoming rematch.
Ryan was splashed with red paint just hours before her first world title clash with Mayer, which ultimately ended in a majority decision win for the American at Madison Square Garden in New York last September.
The two will face off once more, with the WBO welterweight title on the line in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday.
Mayer commented, “I believe Sandy has a rather fragile mindset. She tends to overthink and gets stressed easily,” adding, “Her reaction to the paint attack and the whole photo shoot situation shows she gets flustered quite quickly. That’s a weakness. In this sport, it’s all mental, so your head has to be in the right place.”
She continued, “I didn’t say anything untrue. I just spoke facts, and if that throws her off, well, then she knows why – because it’s the truth.”
Mayer is hopeful that there won’t be any further controversy before their rematch.
“I think she understands now that it wasn’t me, despite our rivalry,” Mayer said. “Neither of us wanted to ruin that big fight at Madison Square Garden. It was huge.”
She added, “She’s likely realized the situation, especially once they reviewed the footage. It was just some random guy in a car who approached her and threw paint. It remains a mystery. Hopefully, there won’t be anything like that before our next fight.”
Ryan, who is hoping to reclaim the WBO title, admitted that the paint incident affected her performance.
“It did impact me because I fought with a lot of emotion and anger, as those who know me can see,” Ryan said. “I haven’t really thought about it much since, I’m just focused on moving forward. It wasn’t an ideal situation.”
The Derby fighter also revealed the extra precautions taken when she arrived at Madison Square Garden.
“When I returned to the venue, a security guard accompanied me,” she explained. “The only moment that felt a bit tense was when he spoke to other security staff, saying, ‘I’ve got Sandy Ryan with me, we’ll be there in three minutes. Make sure the doors are open and there’s security in place.'”
She continued, “He told me, ‘Stay in the car when we arrive. I’ll open the door and stay close to you.’ It felt like something out of a movie. But once I got to the venue and into the dressing room, it was fight time. Things calmed down after that.”
