Rhiannon Dixon (left) takes a punch from Terri Harper (right) during their lightweight bout on September 28, 2024 – Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
One of the best weeks for women’s boxing this year took place last week, when no less than three major televised cards were headlined by female fighters.
On Friday, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan clashed for what would end up being the best fight of the weekend. It was a classic duel between power and speed, and Mayer’s footwork and hand speed ultimately won the day. It was a close affair that warrants a rematch, especially since it’s a good fit for both of them given the investment in trash talk they put in during the pre-fight hype.
Thanks to this victory, Mayer was proposed to become the new number 2 at welterweight, trading places with Ryan who now goes to number 3.
“The fight between Mayer and Ryan was very close, but I think Mayer was the slight winner, although the cards should have been closer in her favor,” said Irene Deserti, editor of Rincon Rojo magazine. Her feelings were echoed by radio host Cynthia Conte, who said that “it was a very close fight and should have a rematch. They would throw down again and there would be a lot of money behind a rematch.”
Others expressed doubts. “I thought Mayer beat Baumgardner and Jonas earlier in her career, but she had to do more to take the titles from Ryan,” said columnist Mark Jones. “Ryan won that fight even though her corner team were amateurs and did her no favors. The fight should have been canceled after an unknown assailant threw paint on her while leaving the hotel,” the writer said, referring to an incident that was definitely not properly addressed by the forces behind the fight.
“It was a great pleasure to see such a quality battle between Mayer and Ryan,” said Japanese writer Yuriko Miyata. “Both gave everything they had, and I saw Ryan win despite that incident.” Boxing historian Malissa Smith, who attended the fight, said that “Mayer was sharp with her execution, while Ryan was able to assert her power in the later rounds, although I felt that Mayer’s feet and smooth use of the uppercut gave the lead in the score.”
Saturday saw a gruesome end to what was shaping up to be a demolition for Alycia Baumgardner, who showed no signs of ring rust and went straight for the neck of the already legendary Delfine Person in a 130 clash pound. An accidental cut on Person forced the fight to be declared a no-contest, but it was clear that Ring champion Baumgardner was on his way to a clear victory.
As a result of this result, Baumgardner remains Ring Champion and Persoon remains at No. 1 in an otherwise weak division.
“Baumgardner looked great in her return to action, and I think she has no competitors of her stature in the junior lightweight division,” said author and TV producer Yesica Palmetta.
“Person is 100% a future Hall of Fame inductee, but she needs to retire,” Jones added. “Since her fight with Katie Taylor five years ago, she has suffered cuts and swelling from eroding reflexes. That said, Baumgardner looked good and deserved her placement in the pound-for-pound rankings.”
“Tough break for Baumgardner, who was in the process of a decisive victory over a past her first Person,” said writer Christopher Benedict. “Too many fights over too long a period of time has taken too great a toll on the Belgian fighter. As Mark suggested, it’s time for her to hang up the gloves and start writing her Hall of Fame speech.”
Sandy Ryan (right) and Mikaela Mayer (left) trade blows during their welterweight title fight – Photo by Mikey Williams
In another extraordinary battle, Terri Harper was the clearest winner of all three major events as she defeated fellow Brit Rhiannon Dixon in a bragging rights war for pride and country. Naturally taller and stronger, Harper was the slight favorite and she used her advantages well to keep Dixon at bay and score enough points to secure a solid victory in a lightweight fight.
Harper, unrated at 135, comes in at No. 2, displacing Dixon to No. 4 and pushing Germany’s Beke Bas out of the Top 5.
“I really liked Harper’s performance,” Palmetta said. “She looked very good at 135 pounds. I think Dixon was destroyed by the power that characterizes Harper.”
Conte agreed, saying that “Harper looked good fighting on the back foot against Dixon. Both landed nicely but Harper just looked special. Glad she pulled back.”
“I know I wasn’t alone in suspecting that the beating Terri Harper received at the hands of Sandy Ryan in March would be extremely difficult for the ‘Belter’ to bounce back from,” Benedict added, “but my hat is down for Harper. for putting in an excellent performance on Saturday, handing Rhiannon Dixon her first loss and taking her belt to become a three-division world champion.”
Since Harper was previously rated at 154 pounds, the ratings in that division had to be changed. Everyone moved up one place, and Canada’s Mary Spencer was chosen to be the new no. 5, and returned to our ratings again.
Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a voter for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Rating Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
