WBC No.1 130lbs contender Mikaela Mayer made relatively light work of a tough Helen Joseph at ‘The Bubble’ in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on Tuesday night and is now on the brink of a shot at reigning champion Terri Harper.
The smooth Mayer dominated on the cards 100-90 (twice) and 99-91, and afterwards was assured by promoter Bob Arum that her next fight will be against Harper or imminent challenger Natasha Jonas, who meet at Matchroom’s Fight Camp on August 7.
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Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
“Bob said, ‘Great fight,’ and that the next one will be for the title,” confirmed Mayer (13-0, 5 KOs) afterwards. “We’ve been trying to get a world title fight for a while now. I said, ‘Don’t let [Harper’s promoter] Eddie Hearn us.’”
Mayer had originally been scheduled to face two-time world title challenger Joseph (17-5-2, 10 KOs) on June 9 before turning in a positive Covid-19 test yet she was always in control in their rearranged encounter. She boxed adroitly early on with a silky jab before matching Joseph’s aggression on the inside in the latter half of the fight.
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Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
In other action, former amateur star Javier Martinez (1-0, 0 KOs) enjoyed a successful migration to the pro ranks taming Ryan ‘The Lion’ Burrs (2-2, 0 KOs). Scores were 40-36 across the board. Super-middleweight Martinez, from Milwaukee, signed a multi-year professional contract with Top Rank last month.
Middleweight ‘Cassius’ Clay Collard knocked out Lorawnt T Nelson (5-4, 4 KOs) in the second round. Collard (8-2-3, 3 KOs) improved to 4-0 on the year including three victories over previously undefeated fighters..
Lightweight Ruben Cervera (12-2, 10 KOs) set the tone with a first round knockdown to outscore Clay ‘3rd Degree’ Burns (9-9-2, 4 KOs). Scores were 59-54 (twice) and 58-56.