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Unified Champion Mikaela Mayer Defeats
Jennifer Han In Homecoming Title Defense
Photos: Mikey Williams - Top Rank
Mikaela Mayer grew up in Southern California and then
left to pursue a boxing career. After an Olympic berth,
nearly five years as an unbeaten pro and a pair of world
titles, Mayer finally authored her triumphant
championship homecoming.
Mayer bested former world champion Jennifer Han by
unanimous decision (100-90 2x and 99-91) to retain her
WBO and IBF junior lightweight world titles Saturday
evening at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California.
It was the third title defense for Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs),
and her first as a unified world champion. She did
everything but force the stoppage, outlanding Han by a
more than 3-1 clip (192-63). Early in the fight, Mayer
busted open Han's nose with a right hand and used a
stiff jab to keep Han on the defensive.
Han (18-5-1, 1 KO) landed the occasional counter against
the ropes, but Mayer was never threatened. It's onwards
and upwards for the woman ranked No. 5 on ESPN.com's
pound-for-pound rankings.
Mayer said, “I feel like I did a lot of good things in
there. Her movement, I think, is what she does best and
it throws you off. She gets her spacing in a little bit,
so I had to throw her off and stay behind the jab. Coach
Al {Mitchell} reminded me to stay behind the jab, set
the right hand up. She would duck sometimes and make me
miss. I started to go to the body. All in all, she’s a
tough, durable girl. That’s why we chose her for this
fight. We knew she would push me, but I feel like I did
well.
“I wanted to get the stoppage I feel like I hurt her in
the eighth round, almost finished her. This is another
reason why I’m advocating for three-minute rounds.
“I’ve been pretty clear that I want to go undisputed at
130. {Alycia} Baumgardner and {Hyun Mi} Choi, I’ve been
calling them out. I want {either} fight, but if they’re
not going to give me that fight in a timely fashion, I’m
game to go up and challenge the winner of {Amanda}
Serrano versus Katie Taylor.”
Welterweight: Giovani Santillan (29-0, 16 KOs) KO 7
Jeovanis Barraza (23-3, 15 KOs), :33. Santillan is a
welterweight contender to watch after he laid a savage
beating on Colombian veteran Barraza in the evening's
co-feature. An accumulation of punishment prompted
referee Thomas Taylor top stop the fight, as Santillan
outlanded Barraza 193-37. Santillan, who is trained by
Robert Garcia, picked up his first stoppage since 2019.
Santillan said, “I am humbled by the support of my
hometown, San Diego. Once again, they came out in force.
They motivate me to do my best every time out there.
“I am going to keep working to earn a welterweight world
title shot. I have a great team behind me, and when the
time comes, I’ll be ready.”
Junior Bantamweight: Andrew Moloney (23-2, 15 KOs)
Gilberto Mendoza (19-12-3, 10 KOs). Moloney, a former
115-pound world champion, continued his march toward a
second world title with a relentless effort against
Mendoza. With less than a minute until the final bell, a
Moloney left hook forced a referee's stoppage. The
numbers told the story, as Moloney landed 261 punches to
Mendoza's 98. It was the first time Mendoza had been
stopped in more than a decade.
Junior Featherweight: Floyd Diaz (4-0, 1 KO) KO 4 Blake
Quintana (4-2, 1 KO). "Cashflow" Diaz let the power flow
through him. Diaz, an 18-year-old from Las Vegas,
notched the first knockout of his career with a brutal
right uppercut to Quintana's body.
Featherweight Duke Ragan (5-0, 1 KO) UD 6 Diuhl Olguin
(15-22-5, 10 KOs). Scores: 60-54 3x. The U.S. Olympic
silver medalist made his triumphant return to the
professional ranks with a shutout over Olguin. Ragan
turned pro in August 2020 and shined at the Tokyo Games
the following summer. The Olympics, couple with injuries
and the death of his father, caused the yearlong layoff.
Ragan showed no signs of ring rust, but Olguin, a born
aggressor, was game to the final bell.
Bantamweight: Jason Moloney (23-2, 18 KOs) UD 10
Francisco Javier Pedroza (17-11-2, 10 KOs). Scores:
100-90 and 99-91 2x. Moloney, a two-time world title
challenger, picked up his second straight win since
losing to pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue. Pedroza
winged overhand rights in the early going, but it was
Moloney's consistent body attack that told the story.
Pedroza was in retreat mode in the later rounds, as
Moloney cruised to the points win.
Flyweight: Virginia Fuchs (1-0, 1 KO) KO 4 Randee Lynn
Morales (4-4, 2 KOs, :24. U.S. Olympian Fuchs, Mayer's
best friend and former amateur teammate, knocked down
Morales in the opening round and had little trouble in
dissecting her overmatched foe. In the fourth round,
following an accumulation of punishment, a Fuchs
onslaught forced referee Jerry Cantu to end the one-way
traffic.
Junior Lightweight: Luis Alberto Lopez (25-2, 14 KOs) KO
Raul Chirino (19-14, 12 KOs), 1:08. IBF No. 1
featherweight contender Lopez sliced through Chirino
with ease, knocking him down four times in less than
four rounds of action. Referee Sharon Sands immediately
halted the contest after Chirino was dropped with a left
hook to the body early in the fourth round. Lopez has
now won eight consecutive fights dating back to 2018.
Junior Welterweight: Lindolfo Delgado (15-0, 13 KOs) KO
2 Gustavo David Vittori (25-11-1, 12 KOs), 2:10. 2016
Mexican Olympian Delgado made quick work of Argentina's
Vittori, scoring a pair of knockdowns in the second
round to earn the stoppage.
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