Mayer and Baumgardner fight to unify the WBC, WBO and IBF championships on the historic Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall bill on September 10, live on Sky Sports
Saturday 3 September 2022 12:12, UK
Mikaela Mayer insists the “beef is real” with Alycia Baumgardner and expects “fireworks” when the pair clash next weekend, live on Sky Sports.
Mayer, the unified IBF and WBO super-featherweight world champion, fights Baumgardner on the historic September 10 bill at the O2 in London.
Baumgardner beat Terri Harper to win the WBC super featherweight world title last year with a devastating one-punch finish, with Mayer relishing the chance to finally take on the 28-year-old in a unification clash.
"There is beef, the beef is real," Mayer told Sky Sports. "Listen, I'm a champion and as a champion, I want to put on the best fights possible.
"I want to challenge myself against the best and so, when Alycia Baumgardner beat your guy's girl Terri Harper for the WBC belt, I immediately started calling her out.
"She didn't like that, took it personally, but I did it for the reason and that's to get us where we are today.
"There's going to be fireworks all week. We've never officially been face to face, for the camera, but yeah we've been waiting for it."
Mayer's meeting with Baumgardner is chief support to the Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall undisputed middleweight championship bout, with the two fights part of an historic all-women's card in London.
Marshall has won 10 of her 12 professional fights inside the distance, while Shields has halted just two of her 12 opponents, although Mayer is backing her compatriot to maintain her unbeaten record on British soil.
"I'll always root for her - I'm always Team Claressa," Mayer added. "I think we kind of have similar challengers in the sense that everyone thinks that both of our opponents are these big knockout punchers.
"I just believe that our aggressiveness and our skillset and our high punch count will just take over.
"I think one of Clarissa's (Shields) best qualities is her aggressiveness. She has a dog in her, she's not going to back down. She's going to keep you on her back foot, keep you on your toes, has a super high punch count and is really fast for that weight division.
"Savannah [Marshall] has proven to be a great pro as well. She has proven to have a lot of power. She's going to have to get set to land that power and I just don't see Clarissa letting her get set."
The biggest fight in the history of women's boxing - Claressa Shields vs Savannah Marshall - is live on Sky Sports on Saturday September 10. Be part of history and buy tickets for the London showdown here.
