Mikaela Mayer vs. Christina Linardatou Is Off; New Opponent Named
Earlier today, news from London started circulating that Mikaela Mayer vs. Christina Linardatou is officially off as the co-main event for tomorrow’s card.
In what has been an interesting few hours, the word from London, UK, is that the lightweight matchup for the interim WBO title between Mikaela Mayer and Christina Linardatou has been canceled. Dan Rafael tweeted the below as it appears that the British Boxing Board did not license Linardatou for having permanent lenses in her eye, which she has had throughout her career.
Per source, British board declined to license Linardatou because she has a permanent lens in her eye she has boxed her whole career with but doctor wouldn’t license her. Of note, Board licensed her with same lens when she boxed Katie Taylor there in 2019. https://t.co/s76GXEqbSx
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) April 14, 2023
The fight between Mayer and Linardatou was part of the Joe Joyce vs. Zhilei Zhang card that will be streaming live on ESPN+ tomorrow afternoon here in the States. Mayer’s new opponent has now populated on BoxRec to be Lucy Wildheart (10-1).
Keep it locked here with Big Fight Weekend as the story continues to develop.
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Top Rank sent out the following release announcing the cancellation of one fight and it’s replacement.
LONDON (April 14, 2023) – Former unified junior lightweight world champion Mikaela Mayer has a new opponent for her lightweight debut. Mayer will battle Swedish contender Lucy Wildheart in a 10-rounder for the WBC interim world title tomorrow at London’s Copper Box Arena after her original opponent, Christina Linardatou, was forced to withdraw after not meeting British Boxing Board of Control requirements.
Mayer-Wildheart will be the co-feature to the heavyweight main event between WBO interim champion Joe Joyce and Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang.
Promoted by Queensberry Promotions, Joyce-Zhang, Mayer-Wildheart and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ beginning at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.
Wildheart (10-1, 4 KOs), a 30-year-old boxer-puncher, enters this late-notice assignment riding a five-bout winning streak since a 10-round decision defeat to French standout Estelle Mossely. In 2021, she knocked out former Mayer foe Edina Kiss in the third round. Wildheart went 2-0 in 2022, winning a pair of six-round decisions on British soil.
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Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, Abe grew up in a family who were and still are die-hard boxing fans. He started contributing boxing articles in 2017 while being an active duty U.S. Marine. Abe is the Managing Editor for Big Fight Weekend and also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
