Mikaela Mayer dug deep when she needed it most Saturday night.

A more active, aggressive Mayer took their fight to stubborn former WBO women’s welterweight champion Sandy Ryan at times, withstood Ryan’s inevitable comeback in the later rounds and won another terrific slugfest for Mayer’s WBO 147-pound championship. Mayer dealt well with Ryan’s strategic adjustment early in their second fight and overcame a cut over her left eye to win their 10-round rematch by unanimous decision at Fontainebleau’s BleuLive Theater.

Judge Max De Luca scored eight rounds for Mayer, who won 98-92 on his card. Judges Benoit Roussel and Steve Weisfeld scored seven rounds each for Mayer, 97-93 apiece.

CompuBox unofficially credited Mayer for landing 32 more punches than Ryan overall (178-of-516 to 146-of-377). The taller Mayer landed more power punches (147-of-336 to 107-to-255), whereas Ryan was credited for connecting with more jabs (39-of-122 to 31-of-180).

Las Vegas’ Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian, retained the WBO 147-pound crown she won from Ryan six months ago in a highly competitive, fan-friendly fight in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I sat on my shots more and committed to my hooks more,” Mayer told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel in the ring. “Those hooks were coming over the top. Sandy tends to stand too straight up. She comes forward and puts the pressure on. So, we worked on chopping her down with those hooks over the top.”

Mayer’s second victory in a main event ESPN aired enabled her to maintain her number one position in The Ring’s women’s welterweight ratings. England’s Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) entered the ring Saturday night at No. 3 among The Ring’s 147-pound contenders.

Now that she has beaten Ryan twice, Mayer wants a title unification fight with Wales’ Lauren Price (9-0, 2 KOs), who owns The Ring, IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC belts.

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

Price beat England’s Natasha Jonas by unanimous decision in her last fight, a 10-rounder March 7 at Royal Albert Hall in London. Jonas (16-3-1, 9 KOs) edged Mayer by split decision in their 10-round fight for Jonas’ IBF welterweight title in January 2024 at Echo Arena in Jonas’ hometown of Liverpool.

Mayer was more effective versus Ryan on Saturday night.

Knowing that Ryan’s rally could’ve cut into the lead she thought she had on the cards, Mayer traded hard shots with a seemingly fatigued Ryan during the 10th round. She landed left hooks to Ryan’s head and body shots to win those final two minutes on two of the scorecards.

Bleeding badly from a cut around her left eye, Mayer tried to fend off Ryan’s rally in the ninth round. The champion landed her fair share of punches in those two minutes as well, but a resurgent Ryan clearly had mounted a comeback at that point in the fight.

Ryan’s right hand connected at times during a strong eighth round for the challenger. Mayer also suffered a cut around her left eye in the eighth round, when their heads clashed as they tried to throw punches.

Mayer got off to another strong start in the seventh round. Both boxers landed hard shots during a violent exchange with about 1:20 on the clock in the seventh round.

A right by Mayer landed early in the sixth round. Mayer’s left uppercut connected later in the sixth, as did a thudding right to Ryan’s body that got the crowd’s attention.

Mayer connected in combination numerous times during the fifth round. A resilient Ryan hit her with several flush rights and lefts as the fifth round drew to a conclusion.

Ryan’s right uppercut stopped Mayer in her tracks late in the fourth round. Mayer drilled Ryan with a right hand to cause yet another clinch by the former champion.

Mayer’s right to the body and left hook to the head landed in the first minute of the fourth round.

Mayer and Ryan traded body shots early in the third round. Mayer then put Ryan on her back foot and made her hold later in the third round.

Huggins warned Ryan for hitting Mayer on the back of her head in the third round. After that warning, Mayer went on the offensive and landed hard punches to Ryan’s head and body.

Ryan’s right hand landed in an exchange during the first minute of the second round. Ryan’s stiff jab caught Mayer later in the second round.

A left hook by Mayer made Ryan initiate a clinch toward the end of the second round.

Mayer’s jab to Ryan’s body was effective in the opening round. Ryan connected with her own jab up top in the opening round, but she allowed Mayer to dictate the pace.

Six months before their 10-round rematch, judges Waleska Roldan (97-93) and Benoit Roussel (96-94) scored their fan-friendly fight for Mayer. Judge Bob Williams scored Mayer-Ryan 1 a draw, 95-95.

Mayer, 34, granted Ryan, 31, an immediate rematch. The odds on their second bout were even, reflective of how closely contested their first fight was.

Their fantastic fight September 27 was overshadowed somewhat by an incident outside of Ryan’s hotel in Manhattan. An unknown male, who was wearing a mask, threw a bucket of red paint on her right pant leg and exposed torso before he jumped.

Ryan and her team blamed Mayer for trying to throw her off her game a couple hours before their fight. Mayer adamantly denied any involvement.