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Mikaela Mayer vs. Silvia Bortot Confirmed For
Liam Smith vs. Chris Eubank Jr. II Undercard Sept. 2
Former unified junior lightweight world champion Mikaela
Mayer returns in a 10-round junior welterweight battle
against Italian contender Silvia Bortot on Saturday, Sept. 2
at AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Mayer-Bortot will take place on the undercard of the highly
anticipated middleweight rematch between bitter rivals Liam
Smith and Chris Eubank Jr.
Promoted by BOXXER, Smith-Eubank II, Mayer-Bortot and
additional undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively
in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Sky
Sports Box Office will broadcast the event in the UK and
Ireland.
Mayer (18-1, 5 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian, signed with Top
Rank in 2017 and captured the WBO junior lightweight world
title by defeating Ewa Brodnicka in October 2020. The
following year, the Los Angeles native unified the WBO and
IBF titles in an action-packed slugfest against Maiva
Hamadouche. In October 2022, she suffered a razor-thin split
decision loss to Alycia Baumgardner in an undisputed world
title showdown at London’s O2 Arena. Mayer then moved up to
lightweight and scored a unanimous decision win over Lucy
Wildheart in April. She now prepares to make her third
consecutive appearance in London.
Mayer said, "It's my sixth year as a pro, but I've never
felt better. My run at 130 was a ton of fun and something
I'm proud of, but it's time for a new chapter. It's time to
combine my experience with my size and see what I can
accomplish. This fight is at 142 pounds, but 147 is the next
hot division in women's boxing, and that's where I'm
headed."
Bortot (11-2-1, 3 KOs) debuted in the pro ranks in 2016 and
captured the European junior welterweight title in 2019 with
a fourth-round TKO win over Marie Helene Meron. She suffered
her first loss via ninth-round TKO in April 2022 but bounced
back that year with three victories. In her last outing, she
lost to undefeated standout Flora Pili via 10-round decision
in May.
Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) captured the WBO junior middleweight
title with a seventh-round TKO win over Apollo Thompson in
2015. He defended the title twice before losing to Canelo
Alvarez in 2016. Smith remained a division mainstay during
the following five years, earning wins over the likes of
Liam Williams, Anthony Fowler and Jessie Vargas. In
September 2022, he made his middleweight debut with a
stoppage win over Hassan Mwakinyo before upsetting Eubank
via fourth-round TKO in their first encounter.
Eubank (32-3, 23 KOs) began his pro career in 2011 and went
18-0 before losing to Billy Joe Saunders in 2014. In 2017,
he moved up to super middleweight and beat former
two-division world champion Arthur Abraham and then-unbeaten
contender Avni Yildirim. In his first world title shot, he
suffered a unanimous decision loss to George Groves in
February 2018. Eubank returned with wins against JJ McDonagh
and former world champion James DeGale before returning to
middleweight, where he was 4-0 before the first Smith
showdown.
In other streaming action from Manchester:
Junior welterweight standout Adam Azim (8-0, 6 KOs) takes on
Ukraine’s Aram Fanyan (23-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round clash.
Unbeaten heavyweight Frazer Clarke (7-0, 5 KOs), a British
Olympic bronze medalist, will lock horns with David Allen
(21-5-2, 18 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
British super middleweight champion Mark Heffron (29-2-1, 23
KOs) will defend his title against former English
middleweight champion Jack Cullen (21-4-1, 9 KO) in a
12-rounder.
Unbeaten Albanian southpaw Florian Marku (12-0-1, 7 KOs)
will take on Ireland’s Dylan Moran (18-1, 8 KOs) in a
10-round welterweight tilt.
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