Mikaela Mayer believes the barriers she faced as a female boxer are well on their way to being broken down as she prepares to be part of a historic night for her sport.
The 32-year-old American puts her WBO and IBF super-featherweight titles on the line in the unification fight against WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner on the undercard of the hotly anticipated showdown between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields this Saturday.
Mayer’s clash with her compatriot forms part of an all-female card at the O2 Arena, live on Sky Sports, and she is in no doubt that, while there is still work to do, it is a sign of the increased opportunities out there for women in boxing.
“It was so hard for me to try to convince young girls to go into this sport for a long time because it was so hard,” Mayer told Sky Sports. “I couldn’t confidently say ‘if you put the work in, it’ll pay off’.
“There are so many women in this sport still who have really hustled and tried and worked, and they’re still not reaping the benefits.
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