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.
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.
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.