Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer: The Bitter Feud and Its Origins

The tension between WBO welterweight champion Sandy Ryan and former unified super featherweight champion Mikaela Mayer goes beyond the ring, rooted in a deeply personal feud. Their clash on September 27 at Madison Square Garden is more than just a title fight—it’s the culmination of a bitter dispute involving coaches, perceived betrayal, and intense public words.

Ryan (7-1-1, 3 KOs) began working full-time with coach Kay Koroma and trainer Flick Savoy following her fight with Jessica McCaskill in September 2023. This decision did not sit well with Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs), who had trained under Koroma for nearly a decade and saw his decision to also coach Ryan as a betrayal. Mayer believed that the welterweight division wasn’t big enough for both of them—especially with Ryan being a potential rival as Mayer moved up from lightweight.

Mayer’s Reaction: A Fallout with Coach Kay

Feeling uncomfortable with Ryan’s growing presence in her training circle, Mayer ultimately parted ways with Koroma after her loss to IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas in January. She then began training with Kofi Jantuah. The announcement of her fight against Ryan in August intensified the tension between the two fighters, with Mayer publicly expressing her displeasure at how the situation was handled.

Recalling the events leading up to her fight with Jonas, Mayer said to ESPN: “I got the fight against Jonas and [told] Coach Kay, ‘Sandy can’t come back here anymore…’ [jokingly] and I thought he would be totally on board with that. On my way to the Jonas fight, he tells me [he’s] bringing in Sandy. I flipped on him a little bit and I’m like ‘Why would you bring in my competition?'”