Boxing
Mikaela Mayer eyes undisputed fight with British rival after becoming three-weight world champion
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Mikaela Mayer has announced her intention to face Lauren Price to establish an undisputed champion at welterweight after winning world titles in a third weight class on Thursday night.
Mayer beat Canadian Mary Spencer in Montreal to earn the WBA, WBC, and WBO straps at super welterweight.
She also holds the WBO belt down at 147lbs after beating Sandy Ryan twice, while Welshwoman Price has the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.
Whilst governing bodies are prone to being overzealous about fighters holding belts simultaneously at two different weights, forcing champions to vacate, Mayer believes she may be able to drop back down to 147lbs to face Price whilst retaining honours at 154lbs.
She told Boxing Scene: “I’ve never been in this position, and for a minute I thought I was gonna have to choose.
“But I may not have to do that. They might give me an opportunity to go down, fight Lauren Price for undisputed and then come back and defend one of the three belts.”
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Mayer, who was previously a unified champion at super featherweight, is under the impression she will be able to continue being a simultaneous two-division title holder due to the fact she plans to quickly move between the two weight classes.
She continued: “I'm not the type of fighter who hops around and takes forever to do things. I'll go down, fight Lauren Price and come right back up in six months and defend these belts. That's the kind of fighter I am.”
A bout with Price has long been mooted since the Welshwoman defeated Natasha Jonas to earn the WBC and IBF titles in March, but negotiations have been protracted. Price’s promoter, Ben Shalom of BOXXER, has stated that the fight should take place in Cardiff to maximise the financial returns, but Mayer believes a deal had previously been agreed for the bout to go ahead in the US.
“We had the fight locked in,” she said. “It was set for July in Vegas, and I think what happened was BOXXER negotiated that deal for Lauren Price without her being involved in it, and when they did tell her the deal we made, which was completely made, money was negotiated and everything, she said, ‘Hell no, I'm not doing that’. I guess that's her prerogative.”
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