Mikaela Mayer Goes the Distance
By Felipe Leon
27-year old up and coming prospect Mikaela Mayer was taken to the four round distance for the first time in her professional career on Saturday in scoring a majority decision.
Mayer (3-0, 2 Kos) fought her toughest foe to date in Nydia Feliciano (9-9-3) in a lightweight four rounder at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. It was a supporting fight for the Vasyl Lomachenko vs Guillermo Rigondeaux WBO super featherweight title fight broadcast on ESPN.
The Mayer-Feliciano bout was televised live by ESPN3.
The bout marked the third outing for Mayer of Los Angeles, CA, in this her debut year as a professional. She made her debut in August with a knockout over Widnelly Figueroa. She had a quick turn around the following month stopping Allison Martinez in three in Phoenix. This time she traveled to the East Coast.
Feliciano had not fought since October of 2016 when she dropped a split decision to Olivia Gerula but couldn’t pass up the chance to perform near her hometown of the Bronx.
With a four-inch advantage in height, Mayer did not waste any time to take advantage of it keeping Feliciano at bay with a swift and stiff jab. Soon Mayer began to add the right hand and left hook to the body as she moved to her left.
Feliciano looked to inch herself forward looking for the body but came up short with her combinations to the head. Feliciano was not using any waist movement but instead keeping her high guard hoping to survive Mayer’s jab.
By the second round Feliciano’s face was turning beet red from Mayer laser-like jab. The Los Angeles fighter was more active in the second throwing more combinations as Feliciano began to land a sporadic overhand right as well as focusing to the body.
Feliciano became much more active and scored more punches in the third and fourth rounds as Mayer began to sit a bit more on her punches than in the first two rounds as she looked to be the first to stop Feliciano in her career.
Mayer began to show marks of the fight in the third as Feliciano began to make more use of that overhand right without forgetting about the body. Feliciano scored her best punch of the fight to start of the round with a flush right hand to the chin of Mayer that the taller fighter walked right through.
Near the end of the round Mayer went back to circling to her left pot-shooting Feliciano with the jab and an occasional uppercut when Feliciano got close enough.
In the fourth round for the first time of her career, Mayer darted in and out with combos of jab, right and left hook to the body which would slow down Feliciano for a half-step. Feliciano kept on scoring that right hand that marked up Mayer’s face and caused a swelling under her face. Feliciano made Mayer work every second of every round all the way to the final bell.
At the end judge John Basile scored it an even 38-38 but was over ruled by judges Carlos Ortiz and Ron McNair who had it an overwhelming 40-36 each for Mayer.
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