Mikaela Mayer appears to belong in the 135-pound division.
The former 130-pound titleholder, making her debut at the heavier weight, outworked late replacement Lucy Wildheart to win a unanimous decision over 10 rounds on the Joe Joyce-Zhilei Zhang card Saturday in London.
The official scores were 100-90, 98-92 and 98-92. Boxing Junkie scored it 99-91, nine rounds to one.
Wildheart (10-2, 4 KOs) took the fight on 24 hours notice when Christina Linardatou was removed from the card after she failed an eye test.
The Swede was game and had her moments, landing eye-catching right hands with some consistency. However, she was outworked by Mayer, who pushed the action and landed many more punches than her opponent.
The 2016 U.S. Olympian jabbed well early, which set the tone and kept the shorter Wildheart away. And then, when they settled into a toe-to-toe battle, Mayer got the better of the exchanges. She connected on power shots to both the head and body almost at will.
Mayer landed 236 of 592 punches (40%), according to CompuBox. Wildheart was 131 of 462 (28%).
“She stepped in at the last minute,” Mayer said of Wildheart. “That was gutsy of her to take a big fight, to jump in on 24 hours notice. She’s strong and durable. I see why she has the confidence to do that.”
They fought for the vacant WBC “interim” title, which puts Mayer near the head of the line to face undisputed 135-pound champion Katie Taylor.
Taylor is scheduled to face Chantelle Cameron on May 20 and is expected to face Amanda Serrano in a rematch after that. However, that’s who Mayer is targeting.
“It’s definitely really exciting for me,” Mayer said. “This is where I belong. I belong in big fights, I belong in title fights. I’m in my prime. I feel great.
“I want the toughest challenge possible. And right now, at 135 pounds, that’s Katie Taylor.”