Female WBO super-featherweight world champion Mikaela Mayer has shared her inspiring journey in the sport. The undefeated champion spoke about her struggles and challenges along the way and what pushed her to turn pro.

Mayer has made the headlines the past few months for calling out Terri Harper. Since then, the champion has all but announced her next fight against Maiva Hamadouche. However, the champion has now shared her story.

Mayer spoke to Top Rank for their social media as part of International women’s day and posted a snippet on her Instagram. The undefeated champion recalled her first time stepping into the boxing gym not knowing anything about combat sports. However, she always maintained that she wanted to do it.

Mayer then recalled how much she fell in love with the sport. “I started training, I started asking if I could come to the men’s classes so I could be there six days a week. And I told myself right away that I wanted to be the best female fighter in the world.”

The champion spoke about the situation in women’s boxing back then and said there was no women’s boxing even in the Olympics. However, when they announced it, becoming an Olympian was her primary goal.

Mayer achieved her goal, representing the USA at the 2016 Olympics.

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Mikaela Mayer goes professional

The champion is now a household name in the women’s professional scene. However, it was not always an option for the American. Mayer revealed that at the time, there was no market for women’s professional boxing, and so, she never considered it.

However, she revealed that the 2016 Olympics changed everything for her. “I had to re-evaluate everything, I had to get everything I wanted from the Olympics. It wasn’t enough for me. I really wanted to challenge myself to do more. And so, I had to take that risk and turn pro. And I’m glad I did.”

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The risk well and truly paid off in 2020 as Mayer beat Ewa Brodnicka to become the WBO champion. In addition, Mayer is a source of inspiration for many young female boxers looking to become a professional- something that she herself did not have when getting into the sport.

What do you make of Mikaela Mayer’s journey? Watch the full interview here.

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