Notebook: Ryan, Mayer to settle beef over trainers in the ring
The women's 147 title fight tops Top Rank card; details revealed for two Golden Boy shows; 'Boots' undercard set; TR signs Puerto Rican prodigy; Stanionis defense ordered; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Most fights are all about business but for WBO women’s welterweight titleholder Sandy Ryan and former unified junior lightweight titlist Mikaela Mayer things have most definitely turned personal between the onetime amateur acquaintances.
Ryan will defend her belt for the third time when she faces Mayer in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Friday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10:30 p.m. ET) at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The genesis of the conflict between Ryan and Mayer stems from Mayer’s assertion that Ryan stole members of her training team, namely longtime assistant trainers Kay Koroma and Flick Savoy.
While Al Mitchell has been Mayer’s career-long head trainer it was Koroma who was hands on with her hitting mitts in the ring during her training camps.
Ryan began working with Koroma and Savoy after she fought to a draw with Jessica McCaskill in a three-belt unification bout in September 2023. Mayer was moving up in weight around that time and saw Ryan as a likely future opponent and did not want them working with Ryan.
When she found out that they were, Mayer felt betrayed and fired them.
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