Mikaela Mayer defended her WBO welterweight world title with a 10-round unanimous decision against bitter rival Sandy Ryan Saturday evening at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs) used her jab and right hand to dictate the action in the opening stanza. The 2016 Olympian then buzzed Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) with a left hook in the second round, which set the tone for the fight as Mayer looked to assert herself as the stronger and bigger fighter at welterweight with clean, punishing hooks.

Ryan found some success with right hands and uppercuts, particularly in the later rounds. A clash of heads in the eighth opened a cut over Mayer’s left eye, but it didn’t change the momentum.

Ryan tried to claw back late, but it wasn’t enough.

With scores of 97-93 twice and 98-92, Mayer put herself in line for a shot at the undisputed crown, with her target being Ring, WBA, WBC, IBF champion Lauren Price.

Mayer said, “I sat on my shots more and committed to my hooks more. Those hooks were coming over the top. Sandy tends to stand straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.”

“I had been needing to move to welterweight for a long time. So, when I finally did, it just took a good, solid year and a half of hard work. This is where I’m comfortable, and this is where I should have been.”

“I beat Sandy Ryan twice. Now it’s time for me to move on and go for undisputed, which is against Lauren Price.”