Presser Notes: Unified Champion
Mikaela Mayer Set for Title Defense vs. Jennifer Han
Source: PR
Photos by: Mikey Williams
/Top Rank via Getty Images
April 8, 2022
(APRIL 8) Mayer-Han
headlines ESPN-televised fight night Saturday in Costa Mesa,
California. WBO/IBF junior lightweight world champion Mikaela
Mayer, the Southern California native who is now one of the
sport's top pound-for-pound talents, is ready for her home
region title defense.
Mayer will defend her belts
against former featherweight world champion Jennifer Han on
Saturday evening at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in
Costa Mesa, California (ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+, 10 p.m.
ET/7 p.m. PT).
At the press conference yesterday, it was announced that Mayer inked a
multi-year contract extension with Top Rank. Mayer signed with
Top Rank after representing the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In the 10-round co-feature,
welterweight contender and San Diego native Giovani Santillan
will battle Jeovanis Barraza. The ESPN telecast will open with
former world champion Andrew Moloney versus Gilberto Mendoza in
an eight-round junior bantamweight tilt.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) features
former two-time bantamweight title challenger Jason Moloney and
the professional debut of U.S. Olympian Virginia Fuchs in a
four-round flyweight fight.
At Thursday's press conference, this is what the fighters had to
say.
Mikaela Mayer
“Ever since I walked into a gym 14 years ago, I’ve been fighting
for a place for women in the sport and to prove that we are a
powerful force in the sport of boxing. This contract solidifies
that. I’ve completed that goal to an extent. Obviously, there is
a long way to go with creating equality in the sport and closing
that gap, but I couldn’t be happier with this contract. It's a
dream contract. It’s a contract I have been fighting for all
these years, and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else but
Top Rank.”
“I haven’t fought in LA in a long time. It’s kind of come full
circle. I started here 14 years ago when I was 17. And I left at
19 years old with a dream: to become an Olympian and become one
of the best female fighters in the world. Fourteen years later,
I’m here fighting in the main event on ESPN. I’ve come a long
way.”
“I’ve known Jennifer for a long time. In one of my first amateur
tournaments, she was there cornering for her sister. She was
around, and she had already been in the game. She’s been in this
game for a really long time. She comes from a family of
fighters, so it’s in her blood. She just went 10 rounds against
the 135-pound undisputed champion, Katie Taylor, so I have tons
of respect for her. I know she has experience and has trained
hard, and we didn’t look past her at all in preparing for this
fight.”
“It’s no secret that I wanted to continue to unify. I wanted
Alycia Baumgardner. I wanted Hyun Mi Choi. That was my first
choice. They’re not quite ready to step up to that, I guess, so
we had to look at another direction.”
“We wanted to fight someone who is strong and proven. We don’t
want any easy fights. We want to continue growing and getting
better. Jennifer Han had just come off a strong fight against
Katie Taylor, and we thought that would be a good matchup for
now. We trained hard for her. We know that she had just given
birth going into the fight with Katie Taylor and she still did
what she did, but we expect her to be even sharping coming into
this fight.”
Jennifer Han
“I’ve been in boxing for over 20 years. I’ve worked my entire
life for these kinds of opportunities. When I first started
boxing, I didn’t think these things would happen. I didn’t think
I’d be headlining on ESPN. This is amazing. I am very, very
grateful.”
“This is huge. When I first started boxing, we were working hard
just to get put on television. During my championship reign, I
never got televised, and it was very frustrating. Women’s boxing
has grown a lot. And I’m very excited to finally be on TV to
showcase our talent.”
“The Katie Taylor fight was quite an experience. It was right
after I had my second child, so I had quite the obstacle of
losing weight, which is not fun. But it’s OK. It’s part of
boxing, and she wouldn’t have called me if I was ready. I have
no regrets. It was a great experience for me, but that was not
my best performance.”
“I’ve had time since then. I’m ready. I’m prepared. And this
fight came at the right time. Top Rank could have chosen anybody
else. Mikaela could have chosen anybody else, but you gave me
this opportunity. I’ve prepared. I’ve worked hard. And this is
my time.”
Giovani Santillan
“I like fighting in Southern California. It was great to have
been able to fight in San Diego, my hometown. I think that San
Diego has a lot of boxing fans, and to have a show out there is
great for everybody. To be in the co-main event of that show was
amazing. Now we’re in Costa Mesa, which is only an hour away
from San Diego. I expect a lot of fans, friends and family to be
there.”
“I’m ready for a title shot. I think I’m there. We definitely
want the big fights. Hopefully, this year we get closer to
something like that. Hopefully, we can be the main event in San
Diego. This Saturday night will be important for me because it
will set the tone for what I’m going to do for the rest of the
year.”
“With every fight, there is always pressure. You always have to
perform as a fighter, especially fighting on ESPN. You always
want to do your best. I think I’m undefeated for a reason. We’re
always thinking about trying to get the bigger fights. I’m
always working hard because I want to give the best version of
myself in each fight.”
Jeovanis Barraza
“I feel great. I first have to defeat my first opponent, which
is the scale, and then I’ll just wait for Saturday. I had a
great training camp. I corrected things in sparring every day.
That’s what this sport is about. You have to be correcting
things every day.”
“In this fight, the important thing is to be able to deal with
different styles. Depending on the opponent, you have to change
your style. That’s what I’m planning to do.”
Andrew Moloney
“I feel like this weekend is my opportunity to redeem myself and
show that I’m a much better fighter than what you saw in those
two losses to Joshua Franco. I learned a lot from that trilogy.
Over the last seven or eight months, I have been working
extremely hard to improve as a fighter.”
“I really feel like I’ve done that. I’ve shown it in the way
I’ve been performing in the gym and in sparring. I really feel
now like I can beat any super flyweight in the world. My plan
now is to go out there Saturday night, put on the best
performance of my career and earn my opportunity to again fight
for a world title and ultimately become world champion again.”
“There are so many good fights out there in the super flyweight
division. I just want to prove that I belong at the top of that
division. I would love the opportunity to fight any of the world
champions right now. I truly believe that I can beat any one of
those guys, but that all starts this Saturday night.”
Jason Moloney
“It’s great to be back over here. This really does feel like our
second home now. It’s been seven months since my last fight.
I’ve been working hard every day, and I’m ready to put on a
really impressive performance.”
“It’s time for us to get the ball rolling. We plan on finishing
this year with two world titles around our waist. And as Andrew
said, that all starts this Saturday night by getting two wins
and moving forward.”
“There is always pressure. I’ve got some big plans for this
year. But, firstly, this man Pedroza is in my way. He wants to
take away everything that I’ve worked for. So, I can’t let that
happen. I’ve got to go out there and get the job done.”
Virginia Fuchs
“I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.
Initially, I was planning on going pro after the 2016 Olympics,
but I didn’t qualify in my weight class. And I’d always wanted
to be an Olympian. So, I just had to go for that dream first and
go another round. I made it, and I competed in Tokyo. Now I’m
here, and I’m excited.”
“This is the perfect way to make my debut. I knew Mayer would be
headlining at some point. Did I think I we would be on the same
card? Maybe not. But I knew I would eventually want to, and my
pro debut is the perfect way to do it.”
“I want to get a world title fight as soon as I can and show the
world what I can do. I definitely think that I have more of a
professional style. I like to go longer rounds. I like to take
my time. Now, I get to take my time, sit down on my shots and
get some knockouts in. You’ll see my experience in the ring.”
