Mikaela Mayer: People feel they have the right to talk trash to you. It can feel like the world hates you

“Boxing is unique in a way that there’s a lot of trash talk and then we go in the ring and we punch each other in the face.”

Mikaela Mayer might currently be riding the crest of a wave as a three-weight world champion since October and recently signed a multi-year contract with Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions but is matter-of-fact when it comes to her sport.

She knows the pitfalls. The hate that comes your way when things in the ring don't go to plan like four years ago when she was coping with unfamiliar territory, reeling in her first professional career defeat to Alycia Baumgardner by split decision.

"I think for me the roughest time was coming off my first loss. I was dealing with the pressures of my own career and my own goals and what I want to accomplish, so you have a feeling that I've failed myself and then you hop online and you have the world bashing you," Mayer told Sky Sports.

"It's like, because we're the ones talking trash, they feel they can talk trash too, so it's definitely a struggle because you're dealing with your own pain and you're trying to keep yourself motivated, hungry and you go online and you're being bashed and you feel that the world hates you."

Mayer says the experience made her stronger and credits her team around her with building her confidence again as she returned to the ring six months later and debuting at lightweight, clinched the WBC interim lightweight title.

"It's not easy to deal with, but I think over time and experience you learn to navigate a little better and with a good team around you, good management, good friends who tell you to keep your spirits high and keep you on track. Even when you're feeling like 'man, how is this all going to turn out in the end?'. You've just got to keep showing up with a good, solid support team."

Promoting fights just becomes part of a boxer's routine in order to boost sales and keep your name in the headlines. But Mayer has learned a cruel lesson that even when you suffer losses, something she has only done twice in her career - she was also beaten by Natasha Jonas in Liverpool in 2024, it's important not to let the haters win.

"I definitely pulled back from social media a lot after my first loss. It took me a couple of years to get back to that mental state.

"I'm good now but looking back I was really going through it, so I did fall off social media for a little bit.

"So that's another bit of advice I'd give: Don't fall off. Don't let the criticism hold you back and disappear from everything you've built already. You've got to keep the momentum going. You've got to stay strong mentally to do that. You've got to block out the noise, keep showing up, keep building your fan base. It's not easy but time and experience helps."

It's a quandary our sportswomen face, not just in boxing but across women's sport. While athletes look to promote themselves and their sports to reach new audiences, they are putting themselves in a vulnerable position and opening themselves to potential online toxicity.