Mayer unifies junior lightweight division in thrilling victory over Hamadouche
Maiva Hamadouche came to brawl Friday night at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
But so did Mikaela Mayer.
Mayer deviated from her tempered, tactical style and overpowered the aggressive Hamadouche, claiming a 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 decision and unify the IBF and WBO junior lightweight titles. The unification bout headlined Top Rank’s broadcast on ESPN+, becoming the first women’s title fight to headline a company card since it renewed its parternship with the broadcasting juggernaut in 2017.
The fight was closer than the scorecards indicated. Mayer landed 239 punches compared to 233 for Hamadouche, who was the early aggressor. But Mayer fought fire with fire and seized control late after fatiguing the French star with a bevy of body punches.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Mayer, called the bout “one of the best fights of the year, male or female.”
“(I showed) I could bang it out on the inside. That wasn’t really the entire game plan,” said Mayer, 31 of Woodland Hills, California. “The game plan was to use my jab, but in the back of my head, I knew she was going to keep it close, keep me on the inside. Even though we trained for that, just being able to do that for 10 straight rounds taught me a lot.”
Mayer (16-0, five knockouts) definitely deviated from her normal style. The one that helped her capture the IBF crown last October with a unanimous decision over Ewa Brodnicka. She tends to stay on the outside, utilize her jab and use her length and height to pick apart her opponents.
But Hamdouche (22-2, 18 KOs), the former WBO champion, wasn’t having that and opted to pressure Mayer from the opening bell. Mayer met that aggression and endured an early storm before finding her rhythm with crisp body punches. She landed 78 compared to 13 for the 32-year-old Hamadouche.
They took their toll later on, allowing Mayer to find openings up top toward the end of the fight.
“I really wanted to show everyone in the division and the naysayers that I didn’t have the power and the grit to stay in there for 10 rounds with Hamadouche that I am the best in the division,” Mayer added. “I am coming to be undisputed, and I want the big fights. I’m definitely a threat.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
