Mikaela Mayer Scores Knockdown, But No Knockout in Win in OKC
By David A. Avila
Mikaela Mayer scored a knockdown against Canada’s Sheena Kaine and won in dominating fashion to win by unanimous decision on Saturday.
Mayer (6-0, 3 KOs) faced a fighter in Kaine (5-1, 1 KO) with similar height, similar record and similar intensity, but that wasn’t enough. The Olympian skills came into play in the one-sided win at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
“It was definitely a different fight than I’ve ever had,” said Mayer, 27, whose birthday is July 4. “She was taller than me and had more strength than most of the girls I’ve fought.”
From the opening bell it was Mayer who established a stiff left jab that set the tone for who was in charge. Though Kaine showed no fear, the jabs and one-two combinations from Mayer kept the Canadian from charging forward.
In the second round Mayer seemed comfortable with her distance and connected with a hard left jab. She used a couple of feints with the jab and unloaded a sneaky fast right cross that sent Kaine tumbling down in a neutral corner. Though the blow landed was right on the chin the Canadian was able get up and beat the count. Mayer began seeking spots to land a counter right but the opening never appeared in the super featherweight fight.
It was clear that Kaine had no solution for the snapping left jab that Mayer was tattooing on a regular basis. In one sequence Mayer fired off three consecutive left jabs with head snapping results. Kaine was firing back but was getting beaten three to one in every round.
Though Kaine was taking punch after punch she showed resilience and a willingness to mix it up when Mayer looked for the knockout. But the tall Canadian had no quit.
“She’s not technically sound, but when she did throw her shots, it was a good thing my hands were up because I could definitely feel them,” said Mayer who had a few red marks on her face after the fight.
In between rounds Mayer was getting instructions to bring the left hook into her combinations, but the former Olympian was having so much success with the right cross that the blonde bomber was content to continue the right cross assault.
The final round saw Mayer continue dominating Kaine with her speed and precision. The left jab could not be stopped and the right cross seldom missed. After six rounds the super featherweight fight ended with all three judges scoring it 60-53 for Mayer.
On paper the fight appeared to be Mayer’s toughest fight, but it was never in doubt.
“This was a great learning experience,” said Mayer.
(Photo by JP Yim)