Sandy Ryan was hit by a can of red paint in an “apparent coordinated attack” en route to Friday’s fight with Mikaela Mayer.
ESPN, the streaming broadcaster of the card, first reported the incident, whose impact left a long trail of crimson down Ryan’s hip and left leg, leaving her unharmed but visually reminiscent of a knife assault victim.
Ryan, 31, was attacked outside her hotel while making her way to Friday’s fight with Mayer, 34, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“It’s a physical attack as much as it is a psychological attack that the champion has suffered,” said ESPN commentator Bernardo Osuna during the broadcast of the Top Rank card.
The prelude to the Ryan-Mayer fight has been contentious, with Mayer, a resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, accusing Ryan, from Derby, England, of coming to the United States and joining her gym, which eventually led to Mayer’s departure. Ryan has since started working with Kay Koroma, Mayer’s former trainer, though she denies that she stole him away from Mayer.
Per Osuna, Koroma was furious in the locker room following the attack on Ryan, urging her not to fight.
“He knew what had happened to his fighter was unacceptable,” Osuna said.
Koroma had worked with Mayer for eight years. Mayer has blamed him for playing both sides, expressing frustration at his lack of transparency surrounding his working relationship with Ryan. “Coach Kay has lost a handful of fighters, and I see why,” Mayer told Jared Schwartz in a Zoom interview.
Both fighters were interviewed about the incident on the ESPN broadcast. Ryan claimed the attack was a setup and affirmed that she was ready for a brutal fight.
“That’s crossing the line, that’s messed up,” Mayer said, insisting she had no involvement in the incident. “Gotta let it go,” she added, referring to the fight to come, which will be contested for Ryan’s WBO welterweight title.
With bad blood and now red paint spilled, both fighters figure to be intent on drawing real blood in the ring.
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