LOS ANGELES — Lauren Price drove a hard bargain to get a deal done against
Mikaela Mayer for an undisputed welterweight title fight slated for July, manager George Ruiz told
The Ring.“After Mikaela Mayer beat Sandy Ryan in the March rematch, Boxxer approached Top Rank for Lauren Price to come to the United States and fight Mikaela in either Las Vegas or New York,” Ruiz said. “They gave us a financial figure and we agreed to exactly what Boxxer was asking for around the material terms.
“Then they followed up and admitted that it was no longer enough, and Price wanted more. Price's price went up, and Price priced herself out. Maybe she didn't really want to fight Mikaela. She backed out of the fight. She said no.”
Price (9-0, 2 KOs), The Ring, WBA, WBC, IBF, and IBO champion at 147 pounds, is coming off a unanimous decision win against
Natasha Jonas in March.
Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs) defended her WBO title against Ryan in their March rematch following their controversial firefight in September. Prior to her rivalry with Ryan, Mayer had a split decision defeat to Jonas in January 2024.
Mayer still wants to face Price and threw her name in the hat to be considered for the
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford undercard on Sept. 13, adding that she “fumbled” their pact.
“Look, we still want the fight against Price,” said Ruiz. “We want to fight for all of the belts. We're standing by, but we have other opponents we are considering, like Chantelle Cameron or a rematch versus Natasha Jonas. We're going to land on an exciting fight for the second half of this year.”
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan