After her title-winning effort against Ewa Brodnicka back in October 2020, both fans and detractors of Mikaela Mayer engaged in a social media debate on whether Mayer already belonged in the mythical pound-for-pound rankings.

The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel settled the argument when it declared Mayer the new No. 10 back then and will surely spark another mild controversy now that it has chosen Mayer to become the No. 8 female pound-for-pound fighter in the world, in a unanimous vote that also propelled her to become the new No. 1 fighter at junior lightweight after her dominant win over Erica Farias, a former two-division titlist, from Argentina, Last Saturday, June 19.

“Mikaela is a step above the rest and, in my opinion, is unstoppable at this point,” said Beautiful Brawlers’ Lupi Gutierrez-Beagle, with Rincon Rojo Magazine Editor Irene Deserti commenting that “[Mayer] has been showing great versatility in the ring and this fight with Farias definitely put her a step above the other girls.”

Mayer’s performance against a fighter who had made 10 successful defenses of her lightweight belt and who was only defeated by three current pound-for-pound entrants (Delfine Persoon, Jessica McCaskill and Cecilia Braekhus) certainly made an impression on the panel, which also chose to elevate Mayer to the top position in the talent-rich junior lightweight division.

“Of the four champions at [junior lightweight], Mikaela Mayer is the most well-rounded and one of the pound-for-pound best in women’s boxing,” argued Mark Jones, who also proposed a radical reshuffle of the pound-for-pound rankings that found almost unanimous acceptance by the panel.

In light of Marcela Acuña’s prolonged inactivity (two years) and Daniela Bermudez’s recently announced pregnancy, a decision was also made to promote Chantelle Cameron to No. 9 and Seniesa Estrada to No. 10.

A more thorough reevaluation of the entire ranking is still slated to happen between now and the end of the Olympic Games, in which the delays and cancellations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be properly weighed before applying the inactivity clause.

Also Farias was allowed to remain at her current No. 4 position at junior welterweight, while Marlen Esparza and Ibeth Zamora both remained at Nos. 4 and 5 at flyweight, respectively. The panel agreed with the general sentiment that Esparza was not dominant enough to warrant a move in the rankings – or even to be awarded the victory over Zamora, as many observers have already indicated.

“Esparza had a sufficient but unspectacular performance,” said Argentina’s Yesica Palmetta. “The fight with Zamora was close and the Mexican had Esparza in trouble. But I do not disagree with the result. I saw Esparza win by just one point.”

Others were not so lenient with Esparza, who was dropped in the first round and appeared to be outgunned during long stretches of the 10-round championship bout.

“I thought Zamora did enough to keep her title by scoring a knockdown, landing the more meaningful punches and being an effective aggressor,” said Mark Jones, while indicating that “[I] agree on maintaining Esparza’s ranking.

Pound-for-Pound

1 – Katie Taylor

2 – Claressa Shields

3 – Amanda Serrano

4 – Jessica McCaskill

5 – Delfine Persoon

6 – Yesica Bopp

7 – Cecilia Braekhus

8 – Mikaela Mayer

9 – Chantelle Cameron

10 – Seniesa Estrada

130 pounds (junior lightweight)

The Ring Champion: VACANT

1 – Mikaela Mayer

2 – Terri Harper

3 – Maiva Hamadouche

4 – Hyun Mi Choi

5 – Ewa Brodnicka

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