Mikaela Mayer is more than just a pretty face. The 29-year-old went from the runway to the ring and has a bent nose to show for it. The undefeated super featherweight (11-0) who fights on the Oct. 26th Shakur Stevenson undercard, has built up an impressive boxing resume while racking up endorsement deals that have made her not only a top contender but one of the leading figures in women’s boxing. She’s come a long way from Valley Girl to boxing queen as you can see from our Tales of the Tape: Mikaela Mayer.
She’s trained by the legendary Al Mitchell
Al Mitchell has trained world champions, Olympic gold medalists and dozens of national title winners in his six decades in boxing but Mayer is his prized pupil. “The thing that makes Mikaela different is her commitment,” Mitchell told USA Today. “When she walked in here, I broke her down and rebuilt her. She never believed it was too hard, and she never gave up. She has toughness that got her this far, and now it’s getting her all the way to the Olympics. It’s an incredible thing to do in that amount of time.” The feeling is obviously mutual because Mayer tattooed her trainer’s initials (AM) on her right hand.
She almost switched to MMA
After repping the USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the fast-rising star almost made a career switch to MMA but opted to be a trailblazer in women’s boxing instead, signing with Top Rank. “I sat there and told them, ‘Look, I know there’s no market for women’s boxing right now, but there is going to be a female to change that — that female is me. I can do that,'” Mayer recalled to ESPN. Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank agreed, signing her on the spot, adding, “She’s got swagger, she’s got confidence, she’s got the look and she’s got the ability.
She aspires to be the Rowdy Ronda of boxing
With her cover girl looks, decorated Olympic background, and SportsCenter highlights punching power, it’s easy to see the comparisons with Ronda Rousey. Mayer couldn’t agree more, “Yeah, how she (Rousey) broke down those walls and made women’s MMA, a market for women’s MMA, yeah, I absolutely see myself doing that for women’s boxing,” she told TMZ.
From party girl to girl power
Mayer was a bad girl outside the ring before becoming one inside. “All I cared about was my friends, and going out and partying, and being a young, cool teenager,” Mayer told NBC. “I was looking for something, but I had no idea what.” What she found was boxing by way of Muy Thai. “I fell in love with boxing so easily,” she recalled to the Atlantic. “Boxing is the hardest sport. It requires so many skills at one time. You have to react, think on your toes. There’s no planned routine like gymnastics. You have to think and act within milliseconds.”
She played the ‘Feud” with Claressa Shields
Mayer and Claressa “T-Rex” Shields go way back to the Olympic trials in 2012. “I came up to her, and I’m like, ‘Hey, you know I heard you’re supposed to win this thing,’” Mayer told Team USA. “And a young 17-year-old girl, she’s just like, ‘Yep.’ You know, very humble at the time. I think she knew how great she was, and then she really proved it to herself.” The two have remained friends and even competed against each other… on Family Feud.
