Mikaela Mayer has set her sights on a fight against Katie Taylor next should she emerge victorious in her grudge match with Alycia Baumgardner on Saturday.
The IBF and WBO super-featherweight world champion looks to unify the division against her compatriot, who holds the WBC crown, as chief support to Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall, in the historic all-female card at The O2.
But after missing out on facing Taylor throughout a fine amateur career, which saw Mayer represent the United States at the Rio Olympics, a step up in weight to battle the legendary Irishwoman is top of her goals beyond this weekend.
“I’ve always wanted a fight with Katie,” the Top Rank fighter tells The Independent. “It didn’t happen in the amateurs, we only lined up for a few tournaments. Queen (Quanitta Underwood) was in my space, she went up against her multiple times, I ended up beating Queen and taking over her spot. Everybody wants to fight Katie; it’s the big money fight and she’s the one to beat. But I feel like I’m next in line for that fight.
“I have unified these belts, getting past Baumgardner would make me the next big name for her. She only wants big names too, I feel like I’m the next big challenge for her. I have every intention of going up to 135lbs, I’d love to become undisputed at 130 and finish what I’ve started. But I’m only going for the big fights. We’ll go to Ireland to do it.”
Taylor is the undisputed champion five pounds up at lightweight and defends her titles in two weeks against Karen Elizabeth Carabajal at Wembley Arena.
But while respectful of Taylor’s greatness, Mayer described the holes in her game which offers her a path to victory and world titles in a second weight class.
“Katie has great movement, a high punch count, a lot of speed, but, and this is no disrespect to her, I’ve studied her for years and she’s done so much for the sport, but I believe I can beat her,” Mayer adds.
“She leads a lot with her back hand, I can sort of predict her combinations before she throws. I have good spacing but I can also bang it out on the inside. I could beat her with my jab, my reach, my movement and my grit. I hope that happens before she declines, I don’t want to hang them up before I share the ring with her.”
Mikaela Mayer vs Alycia Baumgardner is live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Arena and Sky Showtime (available in all Sky and NOW homes) on Saturday, coverage starts from 7.30pm
