Ryan considered retirement after losses to Mayer

BBC News

4 days ago

Derby's Sandy Ryan says she considered retiring from boxing after successive defeats by Mikaela Mayer.Ryan, 31, lost her WBO welterweight world title to Mayer in controversial circumstances last September before being beaten in the rematch in March.After two emotionally and physically draining encounters in the US, Ryan admitted she was devastated with her performance."Mid-fight I fell asleep as in stopped reacting, stopped doing what I normally do," Ryan told BBC Radio Derby."I remember being in the corner and my brother and [coach] Kay were like 'what's wrong?' I was in my own world. I just can't explain it."It's not the best place to be in one of the biggest fight of your career.""After the fight, I thought I was done," she added."I was finished boxing. And then a few weeks after, I had been back home for a while and after a few weeks the fight was still in me. I still have so much to give."Ryan's first encounter with Mayer was marred by an unknown person throwing paint over the Englishwoman as she was leaving her hotel on fight night.Ryan described the scorecards in the first fight as "questionable" but had no complaints about the rematch, which was a unanimous points win for the American.She said camp was "mentally" tough and she suspects she carried a lot of the effects of their first dramatic fight into the rematch."I tried to not bring it with me, but in the back of my head it was always there," she said."I tried to be too relaxed and not be as aggressive or have that fire. But maybe when I look back, maybe I was too relaxed and not reacting to certain things which kind of made me a bit more calm."In the fight game, yeah it's good to be calm but I am an aggressive fighter and I needed that."I'm giving this another shot so I need to get that fight and anger back in me, balance it out."
Cyborg - What next for Ryan?
Ryan says she expects to make her return to the ring in August in the United Kingdom, with her management currently searching for an opponent.Cris Cyborg, a former UFC and PFL world champion in MMA, is one name being mentioned and Ryan asked her team to explore the possibility of making that match-up.The Brazilian has a 5-0 record in professional boxing, with her most recent bout in May."Her profile is big," Ryan said of Cyborg. "I saw she was calling out Claressa Shields, which is just crazy."It would be great - I'd be happy if they made that fight. She seems very confident, but it's boxing, she wouldn't beat me."Despite her interest in Cyborg, Ryan says it is more likely she will have a tune-up fight."I know potentially my next fight won't be a big fight. I am coming off a loss so I have to build myself up," she said.