Sandy Ryan is determined to bring her spiteful rivalry with Mikaela Mayer to an end when they fight this weekend.
Britain’s Ryan, the WBO welterweight world champion, fights Mayer at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York, live on Sky Sports from 2am on Saturday morning.
The two fighters had a bitter fallout when Ryan began working with Mayer’s training team, prompting the American to leave the gym and start working with a new coach.
Subsequently she has vociferously criticised Ryan, prompting a fiery response from the Briton.
“The way you insult me as a person,” Ryan told Mayer in a joint interview with Sky Sports, “I don’t respect her as a human being. I think she’s trash and she’s a grown woman and the way she speaks, it’s just trash to me.”
Mayer responded: “I just told the world what you did… You knew what you doing, just own it.”
“I will own you in the ring,” Ryan responded. “It won’t be going the distance.
“My final word will be in the ring.”
Mayer warned: “You and Flick [Savoy, Ryan’s trainer] want to say I’m on my last legs but you all know I’m coming off one of the best performances of my life. I’m still in my prime and you’re getting prime Mikaela Mayer.
“I want to hurt her. I would love to finish it inside the distance, how you Brits would say, but either way I’m winning no matter what.”
‘I’ve got in her head’
As vicious as the build up to their world title fight has been, Ryan is convinced she has the psychological edge over Mayer.
“I think I’ve got in her head,” she told Sky Sports.
The Briton continued: “I’m the champion. This is a professional sport and she’s not being professional about it. I just have to finish the job.
“She’s got what she wanted and she’s going to get what she deserves.
“Some of the things she’s said, it’s personal,” she added. “That’s why she’s going to get a beating.
“I just know what I need to do. I’m going to beat her up.”
Ryan targets Price & Jonas
As an amateur Ryan was a GB squad team-mate with Lauren Price and Natasha Jonas. With Price the WBA titlist, Jonas the IBF belt-holder and Ryan holding the WBO crown, all three are currently world champions at 147lbs.
Despite their shared past, Ryan believes that all the rival champions will fight.
“It’s crazy looking back to be honest. We shared houses on camps, went away to other countries sparring and now we’ve got world titles in the same weight division. We should all get it on. We should all make big fights, make history, make money. I think that’s the way forward. We’re all up there,” Ryan told Sky Sports.
“They are future fights that I want and I believe they want as well.
“I was so close to holding all the belts [after a contentious draw with Jessica McCaskill]. So I just want that chance again next year to go again at them.”
Watch Ryan vs Mayer on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports+ from 2am on Saturday morning
Source : Sky Sports
