‘We’ve made an offer’: Ben Shalom looks to ink undisputed Mikaela Mayer vs Lauren Price unification
Lauren Price is one belt short of going undisputed.
Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom tells ESPN that he’s honing in on a women’s undisputed welterweight title fight between Mikaela Mayer and Lauren Price that would take place in the coming year. Mayer and Price had previously been in talks for a fight to take place this year but it never materialized as Shalom admits their side didn’t think the money way right for them, although he hopes they’ll still be able to work something out as it’s a fight they’re interested in pursuing.
“We’ve made an offer for Mayer to come and fight over here at the Royal Albert Hall. So far, we haven’t had an accepted offer, but that has been a fight that we’ve been trying to make and are trying to make.”
The 31-year-old Price (9-0, 2 KOs) holds the WBC, WBA and IBF titles and most recently took a unanimous decision win over Natasha Jonas in March, while the 35-year-old Mayer still holds the WBO title at welterweight despite moving up to take some belts a division north.
Whether Mayer will still be interested in coming back down to make this fight happens remains to be seen at the moment, but it’s a viable option for her to put a complete stamp in a singular division.
Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
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Re: Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price undisputed offer on the table
An offer has been made for Lauren Price to fight American Mikaela Mayer in a huge women's undisputed welterweight title fight next year, promoter Ben Shalom told ESPN.
The fight between IBF, WBA and WBC champion Price (9-0, 2 KOs) and WBO titleholder Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) was expected to take place earlier this year but never happened.
Mayer moved up to junior middleweight (super welterweight) and collected the WBC, WBO and WBA belts with a win over Mary Spencer in October.
However, the American has said she still wants to face Price at 147 pounds for all the belts, and it is expected the fight can be made.
Price is targeting a fight in Cardiff, Wales, in February in what will be her first bout in almost a year, before moving on to Mayer.
"We got offered the fight in July for the [United States], but the money was not something that Lauren's management felt was appropriate for that fight, and I tend to agree with her," Shalom told ESPN.
"We've made an offer for Mayer to come and fight over here at the Royal Albert Hall.
"So far, we haven't had an accepted offer, but that has been a fight that we've been trying to make and are trying to make."
Mayer, 35, is a three-division world champion having also won titles at junior lightweight. She turned professional in 2017 after representing the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Price, 31, has been professional for three years after a glittering amateur career.
She won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2019 world championships.
An offer has been made for Lauren Price to fight American Mikaela Mayer in a huge women's undisputed welterweight title fight next year, promoter Ben Shalom told ESPN.
The fight between IBF, WBA and WBC champion Price (9-0, 2 KOs) and WBO titleholder Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) was expected to take place earlier this year but never happened.
Mayer moved up to junior middleweight (super welterweight) and collected the WBC, WBO and WBA belts with a win over Mary Spencer in October.
However, the American has said she still wants to face Price at 147 pounds for all the belts, and it is expected the fight can be made.
Price is targeting a fight in Cardiff, Wales, in February in what will be her first bout in almost a year, before moving on to Mayer.
"We got offered the fight in July for the [United States], but the money was not something that Lauren's management felt was appropriate for that fight, and I tend to agree with her," Shalom told ESPN.
"We've made an offer for Mayer to come and fight over here at the Royal Albert Hall.
"So far, we haven't had an accepted offer, but that has been a fight that we've been trying to make and are trying to make."
Mayer, 35, is a three-division world champion having also won titles at junior lightweight. She turned professional in 2017 after representing the United States at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Price, 31, has been professional for three years after a glittering amateur career.
She won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2019 world championships.
Re: Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
I'm not a big follower of women's boxing, but this one would be an interesting bout. I kinda favor Price, especially if the fight is held in the UK, where Mayer has had some misfortune on the scorecards.
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Re: Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
Ring Champion Lauren Price Heading Back To Cardiff, Promoter Reveals
Ring Magazine welterweight champion Lauren Price is set to return to Cardiff for the next step on her road to becoming a 'national icon'.
The southpaw, who is currently No. 8 in The Ring's pound-for-pound rankings, has had a frustrating six-month period following her faultless victory over Natasha Jonas at Royal Albert Hall in March.
That night, Price unified her WBA title with the WBC and IBF belts held by Jonas, the two-weight world champion from Liverpool. However she has not boxed since, after a mooted undisputed clash with WBO champion Mikaela Mayer fell through.
But her promoter Ben Shalom says news regarding her return to the ring is imminent and he confirmed Price looks set to head back to Cardiff, where she beat Jessica McCaskill to win the Ring belt in May 2024.
"I believe she will headline in Cardiff in the very, very near future," Shalom told The Ring.
"We want to make that Mikaela Mayer fight but let's see what happens.
"I think she could become a national icon. With her success at the Olympics in Tokyo where she won gold, and now her success in the pros, she is someone who has the entire nation behind her.
"So, yes, we want big fights for Lauren and hope she headlines in Cardiff next."
Shalom also revealed that Boxxer are planning to return to Royal Albert Hall for another show to mark International Women's Day in 2026.
"We have that coming up, thick and fast in March," he said. "We will be returning there on the same date so there are a lot of big things in the pipeline."
Boxxer make their BBC debut on Saturday night when Frazer Clarke and Jeamie TKV meet for the vacant British heavyweight title in Derby live on free-to-air television.
The event could be the start of a seismic deal with Britain's national broadcaster and Shalom believes Price could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new alliance.
"She can definitely become the darling of the platform," he said. "That's certainly the plan for everyone.
"I think Lauren Price is the most talented fighter in the whole of the female sport. I think she's probably the only fighter I would feel confident going in against Claressa Shields, and that's a massive compliment.
"She, perhaps, is the shining light in women's boxing and will get the chance to prove it."
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Re: Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
BOXXER 'GETTING CLOSE' TO PRICE-MAYER UNIFICATION DEAL AFTER MANY REJECTED OFFERS
Boxxer are ready to up their offer to Mikaela Mayer for the long-awaited undisputed clash with Ring Magazine champion Lauren Price.
Mayer currently holds the WBO welterweight title which is the only alphabet belt missing from Price's collection.
The Welsh star has been out of action since March, when she claimed Natasha Jonas' WBC and IBF titles, having beaten Jessica McCaskill for the WBA belt in May 2024.
Her promoters Boxxer have had ongoing communication with Mayer's team but have so far failed to produce an offer the 35-year-old, currently ranked at No. 1 by The Ring, has deemed acceptable. Instead, she moved up to 154-pounds in October and became the unified champion by widely outpointing Mary Spencer in Montreal.
On Tuesday, she officially relinquished the WBO junior middleweight crown - with the sanctioning body president Gustavo Olivieri informing media outlets of her desire to 'pursue undisputed status' at 147-pounds, the American's more natural weight class.
She took to Twitter the following day, saying:
"Unfortunately we just learned that the three-belt champion needs a tune-up fight. I of course plan to stay busy in the meantime, so the team is working on what's next."
Meanwhile, Boxxer head Ben Shalom says he has not been dissuaded by the multitude of rejected offers and is confident of finding the financial offer that works for Mayer.
He told The Ring: "At the moment, it's not been accepted, but multiple offers have gone across. We've made repeated offers, not had one accepted yet. But I think it's getting close.
"Both fighters definitely want the fight. So I expect that to happen. She wants more money, it's as simple as that."
It had been suggested that Mayer was unhappy about the prospect of travelling to Cardiff, Wales to face Price, thus giving the unified champion home advantage. Shalom admits it will end up costing them more money but does not expect it to be a deal breaker.
He added: "I think money talks again but it probably adds a premium to the fact that we want it in Cardiff.
"So it's about offering more money but I don't think we're far off now. To be honest, I don't think there's any other fight that makes sense for Mikaela out there.
"It’s an opportunity to win the Ring Magazine belt and the three other belts. It's a huge fight so I genuinely think it's a fight that she wants. The promoters want as much money as possible for her to come over to Cardiff and that's it. But we will get there."
That fight however, is unlikely to take place before June and Shalom is planning to stage a headline show for Price sooner than that.
"She's fighting very soon and the date will be announced next week," Shalom said of Price.
"She'll fight in Cardiff, whether Mikaela or not. Maybe Mikaela will be in June but Lauren is fighting regardless.
"She's headlining in Cardiff. She's had a couple of issues not to do with us, as to what's kept out of the ring a little bit. But for me, she's the best female we have in this country, if not the world. She's going to headline in Cardiff on the BBC, and we'll announce and I'll be delighted to see her back. She's got huge fights ahead of her."
Boxxer are ready to up their offer to Mikaela Mayer for the long-awaited undisputed clash with Ring Magazine champion Lauren Price.
Mayer currently holds the WBO welterweight title which is the only alphabet belt missing from Price's collection.
The Welsh star has been out of action since March, when she claimed Natasha Jonas' WBC and IBF titles, having beaten Jessica McCaskill for the WBA belt in May 2024.
Her promoters Boxxer have had ongoing communication with Mayer's team but have so far failed to produce an offer the 35-year-old, currently ranked at No. 1 by The Ring, has deemed acceptable. Instead, she moved up to 154-pounds in October and became the unified champion by widely outpointing Mary Spencer in Montreal.
On Tuesday, she officially relinquished the WBO junior middleweight crown - with the sanctioning body president Gustavo Olivieri informing media outlets of her desire to 'pursue undisputed status' at 147-pounds, the American's more natural weight class.
She took to Twitter the following day, saying:
"Unfortunately we just learned that the three-belt champion needs a tune-up fight. I of course plan to stay busy in the meantime, so the team is working on what's next."
Meanwhile, Boxxer head Ben Shalom says he has not been dissuaded by the multitude of rejected offers and is confident of finding the financial offer that works for Mayer.
He told The Ring: "At the moment, it's not been accepted, but multiple offers have gone across. We've made repeated offers, not had one accepted yet. But I think it's getting close.
"Both fighters definitely want the fight. So I expect that to happen. She wants more money, it's as simple as that."
It had been suggested that Mayer was unhappy about the prospect of travelling to Cardiff, Wales to face Price, thus giving the unified champion home advantage. Shalom admits it will end up costing them more money but does not expect it to be a deal breaker.
He added: "I think money talks again but it probably adds a premium to the fact that we want it in Cardiff.
"So it's about offering more money but I don't think we're far off now. To be honest, I don't think there's any other fight that makes sense for Mikaela out there.
"It’s an opportunity to win the Ring Magazine belt and the three other belts. It's a huge fight so I genuinely think it's a fight that she wants. The promoters want as much money as possible for her to come over to Cardiff and that's it. But we will get there."
That fight however, is unlikely to take place before June and Shalom is planning to stage a headline show for Price sooner than that.
"She's fighting very soon and the date will be announced next week," Shalom said of Price.
"She'll fight in Cardiff, whether Mikaela or not. Maybe Mikaela will be in June but Lauren is fighting regardless.
"She's headlining in Cardiff. She's had a couple of issues not to do with us, as to what's kept out of the ring a little bit. But for me, she's the best female we have in this country, if not the world. She's going to headline in Cardiff on the BBC, and we'll announce and I'll be delighted to see her back. She's got huge fights ahead of her."
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Re: Mikaela Mayer vs. Lauren Price - Who wins?
Mayer still targeting Price, blames Boxxer for breakdown in talks
Mikaela Mayer is planning to reignite her pursuit of an undisputed welterweight clash with Lauren Price once her August 29 fight against Chantelle Cameron is out of the way.
WBO 147-pound champion Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) had been hoping to secure a long-awaited showdown with Ring Magazine queen Price, who currently holds the WBA, IBF and WBC belts too.
However, when those negotiations broke down after months of talks, Mayer decided to face a different Brit in Cameron. The pair are set to fight in a unification for Cameron’s WBO junior-middleweight belt and Mayer’s WBA and WBC straps on an MVP card in Birmingham on August 29.
The winner will be just one fight away from becoming the undisputed 154-pounds champion, with Oshae Jones (9-0-1, 3 KOs) the current holder of the IBF title. But when asked whether that would be her primary target, Mayer said her ambitions still lie at welterweight. “I think the bigger fight is undisputed at 147 against Lauren Price,” the 35-year-old told The Ring.
“Oshae Jones has the other belt at 154 and besides the fact we're good friends, I don't know if that fight would happen next.”
So determined to maintain her position in the welterweight division, Mayer even agreed for this clash with Cameron to take place at a contracted catchweight of 148 pounds.
“After this I'm going to have to go back down to 147 to defend that belt pretty soon or they're going to strip me,” she adds. “So I'm hoping to get it done next after Cameron.”
Both Mayer and Price insist they want to fight each other but so far the two sides have not reached an agreement. The American says that terms were agreed for a fight to take place last year only for Price to change her demands late in the negotiations. When asked exactly what is to blame for the breakdown in communication, Mayer laid the blame squarely with Price’s promoter. “I think it’s a Boxxer thing,” she says. “We had the fight set for July of last year it was going to be the last fight they had on Sky Sports the last fight Top Rank had on ESPN. "It was like the last chance to get it done we agreed on the number and purse, we agreed on the location — it was supposed to be here in Vegas — then all of a sudden they call back and they say ‘oh no Lauren Price wants more money, she wants this, she wants that, she's not into it.’
“I think that Ben Shalom or whoever's negotiating this stuff for her isn't keeping her in the loop. You don't come to a whole agreement on a fight without going back to the fighter and asking how they feel about it.
“I think they negotiated an entire deal and then when they took it back to her she was like ‘uh no.’ That's just irresponsible and shows a lack of communication on their side.
“It kind of screwed us over because we lost the TV slot for that and then they tried to get me to go over to Cardiff for $200,000. But I'm not fighting for undisputed for $200,000, you're tripping. I don't know what you're getting paid but that's absolutely not freaking happening.
“But that being said, I still think it's possible. I don't know, maybe I need to have a talk with Lauren Price face to face because I don't know what she's being told.” As one of the stars of women’s boxing, Mayer says she has now entered her “cash out era." So, after more than 100 amateur bouts and nearly nine years as a professional, how long does she have left in the game? “Well I just signed a six-fight deal with MVP so I plan to finish that and then that’s it," she says.
“That's why I want to get the biggest fights possible. So I got the Chantelle Cameron fight, then if I can get Lauren Price and then, who knows, maybe I can get Claressa Shields.
“That would be three and then I could get Oshae Jones for undisputed at 154 pounds, shoot, maybe I'll be done in four.”
Mikaela Mayer is planning to reignite her pursuit of an undisputed welterweight clash with Lauren Price once her August 29 fight against Chantelle Cameron is out of the way.
WBO 147-pound champion Mayer (22-2, 5 KOs) had been hoping to secure a long-awaited showdown with Ring Magazine queen Price, who currently holds the WBA, IBF and WBC belts too.
However, when those negotiations broke down after months of talks, Mayer decided to face a different Brit in Cameron. The pair are set to fight in a unification for Cameron’s WBO junior-middleweight belt and Mayer’s WBA and WBC straps on an MVP card in Birmingham on August 29.
The winner will be just one fight away from becoming the undisputed 154-pounds champion, with Oshae Jones (9-0-1, 3 KOs) the current holder of the IBF title. But when asked whether that would be her primary target, Mayer said her ambitions still lie at welterweight. “I think the bigger fight is undisputed at 147 against Lauren Price,” the 35-year-old told The Ring.
“Oshae Jones has the other belt at 154 and besides the fact we're good friends, I don't know if that fight would happen next.”
So determined to maintain her position in the welterweight division, Mayer even agreed for this clash with Cameron to take place at a contracted catchweight of 148 pounds.
“After this I'm going to have to go back down to 147 to defend that belt pretty soon or they're going to strip me,” she adds. “So I'm hoping to get it done next after Cameron.”
Both Mayer and Price insist they want to fight each other but so far the two sides have not reached an agreement. The American says that terms were agreed for a fight to take place last year only for Price to change her demands late in the negotiations. When asked exactly what is to blame for the breakdown in communication, Mayer laid the blame squarely with Price’s promoter. “I think it’s a Boxxer thing,” she says. “We had the fight set for July of last year it was going to be the last fight they had on Sky Sports the last fight Top Rank had on ESPN. "It was like the last chance to get it done we agreed on the number and purse, we agreed on the location — it was supposed to be here in Vegas — then all of a sudden they call back and they say ‘oh no Lauren Price wants more money, she wants this, she wants that, she's not into it.’
“I think that Ben Shalom or whoever's negotiating this stuff for her isn't keeping her in the loop. You don't come to a whole agreement on a fight without going back to the fighter and asking how they feel about it.
“I think they negotiated an entire deal and then when they took it back to her she was like ‘uh no.’ That's just irresponsible and shows a lack of communication on their side.
“It kind of screwed us over because we lost the TV slot for that and then they tried to get me to go over to Cardiff for $200,000. But I'm not fighting for undisputed for $200,000, you're tripping. I don't know what you're getting paid but that's absolutely not freaking happening.
“But that being said, I still think it's possible. I don't know, maybe I need to have a talk with Lauren Price face to face because I don't know what she's being told.” As one of the stars of women’s boxing, Mayer says she has now entered her “cash out era." So, after more than 100 amateur bouts and nearly nine years as a professional, how long does she have left in the game? “Well I just signed a six-fight deal with MVP so I plan to finish that and then that’s it," she says.
“That's why I want to get the biggest fights possible. So I got the Chantelle Cameron fight, then if I can get Lauren Price and then, who knows, maybe I can get Claressa Shields.
“That would be three and then I could get Oshae Jones for undisputed at 154 pounds, shoot, maybe I'll be done in four.”