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Mikaela Mayer signs contract extension with Top Rank prior to Jennifer Han defense

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 05: Mikaela Mayer is victorious as she defeats Maiva Hamadouche for the WBO & IBF female super featherweight championship at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on November 05, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
Fighters Network
08
Apr

The Ring Magazine women’s junior lightweight champion Mikaela Mayer signed a multi-year contract extension with Top Rank, it was announced Thursday afternoon.

Mayer (16-0, 5 knockouts) will return to action Saturday night, to defend her Ring championship and IBF and WBO female junior lightweight titles against Jennifer Han (18-4-1, 1 KO) inside The Hangar at the Orange County Fair and Event Center, in Costa Mesa, California (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

The 31-year-old Mayer signed with Top Rank immediately after competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and has emerged as one of the best female fighters in boxing today. She is currently ranked No. 7 in The Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound women’s rankings.

“Mikaela has accomplished so much since making her professional debut in 2017 and she has only scratched the surface,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “She is a role model for young women in the sport and a tremendous talent. I believe she is well on her way to becoming boxing’s pound-for-pound queen and she will be involved in the sport’s biggest events for years to come.”



“This contract represents everything I have been working for since I stepped foot in a gym 14 years ago,” said Mayer. “It’s a dream contract, a contract that women’s boxing has yet to see and proof that we are a powerful force in the sport of boxing and here to stay.

“I have always enjoyed working with Top Rank and when I first signed with them five years ago, I knew I had a lot to prove. Every time I stepped into that ring, I fought to show the boxing world that I belonged and that women belonged. This contract tells me that I accomplished that goal. I plan on continuing that mindset for the next several years as we knock down even more barriers and create an even greater legacy.”

Mayer’s manager George Ruiz believes the best is yet to come but re-signing with Top Rank was a no-brainer.

“Mikaela’s extension with Top Rank reflects her unique talent and a promoter’s vision in growing women’s boxing,” said Ruiz. “The rapid rise of women’s boxing over the last few years has been accelerated by Top Rank providing Mikaela with a platform to showcase her skills in the world’s biggest venues and in front of the biggest audiences as the main event on live ESPN broadcasts. She will now be one of boxing’s best-paid athletes. We can think of no better promoter and partner than Top Rank for Mikaela’s next phase as a world champion.”

Mayer, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills and now resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, most recently fought on November 5, defeating Maiva Hamadouche, who held the IBF title, by unanimous decision in one of the best women’s fights of 2021. Because it was a major title unification bout, Mayer won the inaugural Ring Magazine junior lightweight championship.

Mayer captured her first major title in October 2020, defeating Ewa Brodnicka, of Poland, by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO belt.

 

 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

 

 

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