Former IBF Super Featherweight world champion, Mikaela Mayer, was adamant that her rival – and undisputed champion of the division – Alycia Baumgardner needed her as much as Mayer would need her when it came to boosting their legacy, profile and profit margins. Both fighters faced each other in October of 2022 for a unified all-American clash which Baumgardner eventually won by split decision.
In an interview with iD Boxing, Mikaela Mayer (17-1, 5 KO’s) explained why a rematch would be vital for both of their careers while promoting her upcoming fight with Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6 KO’s).
“To me, it doesn’t make sense.” Mayer said when confronted on Eddie Hearn, Alycia Baumgardner’s (14-1, 7 KO’s) promoter, remarking that Mayer’s promoter, Bob Arum, would have to approach Hearn to schedule in a rematch.
“You work extremely hard as a promoter to get your fighter to become world champion, even harder for them to become undisputed.
“He said he hasn’t thought about the rematch but that is obviously a lie because Eddie is a great promoter. He wants the big fights. He always talks about it, doing big things, putting up big shows, so you have a mega-fight (the rematch between Baumgardner and Mayer) in your backpocket but you haven’t thought about calling it out or using it? I just don’t believe that.”
Mayer, who was highly-lauded as an amateur, is currently set to face Christina Linardatou, a former WBO world champion at Junior Welterweight/Super Lightweight who is also known for beating Baumgardner by split-decision in 2018.
In the same interview, Mayer made it clear that she and Baumgardner both received the highest paydays of their careers in their first fight, and she expressed her confidence in the rematch being beneficial for both their sakes when it came to money earned and their standing within the sport.
“Top Rank really set the bar with what they paid us in our last fight.” Mayer said. “And we lived up to that, if not more. We really, really sold that fight. The views for everything we did; press conference, media workout, face-to-face, everything we did was just… so many views.
“It was insane, and people really loved that fight and sold it, so the rematch is worth more for sure.”
When asked on what it would take for the rematch to take place, Mayer seemed to pinpoint Baumgardner as the main factor to help make the fight happen.
“I think Baumgardner is going to realize soon how much she needs me.” Mayer surmised. “They’ll come knocking eventually, I know it. At this point I’ve made it clear that I want the rematch but that’s all I can do.
“I’m going to continue my career. I have a big fight against Christina Linardatou so I’m focused on that, and like I said, there are a lot of top-quality opponents for me to go up against. We’ll see if she steps up.”
