Loser: Karim Mayfield & Ben Bauatista
Karim Mayfield came in on short notice to challenge undefeated contender, Dmitry Mikhaylenko in Saturday nights co-main event.
Mayfield had a tough decision to make because on the one hand he was being offered a great opportunity to spring an upset against a young, undefeated fighter live on HBO, but on the other hand he only had about a week to prepare for the bout.
If Mayfield declined the fight, he could have been saying goodbye to his final opportunity to fight on HBO. But, as Mayfield stated before the fight, short notice fights are part of the game and he was ready to seize the moment. Or was he?
Mayfield came out charging in Round 1, but fell flat (not literally, although that may have been better) a few rounds later and looked gassed throughout most of the bout as he swung aimlessly.
That makes sense given the fact that he hadn’t fought in over a year, but still, he took the fight and knew what he was getting into.
Mayfield wasn’t ever in the fight and the entertainment factor was non-existent so it’s hard to imagine him getting another chance to fight on HBO.
Mayfield was berated by numerous people on Twitter, including 2012 gold medal Olympian, Claressa Shields.
Man Karim Mayfield can not fight 😂😂😂 what's going on! @HBOboxing it's time to add women fighters to the card!!! #KovalevPascal2
— ClaressaT-rexShields (@Claressashields) January 31, 2016
Mayfield responded, but Shields still slayed.
@Claressashields @HBOboxing cmon i saw u fight in the trails, ur a great fighter and u & I know u can't judge 8 days 4 training for a fight!
— KarimHrdHitaMayfield (@KarimMayfield1) February 1, 2016
And lastly, to make matters worse, Mayfield’s trainer, Ben Bautista was god-awful.
Mayfield looks dead tired and Bautista’s instructions are “suck it up.. let’s go!” pic.twitter.com/bPW4ShlMQ2
— Alejandro Burgos (@301whereimfrom) January 31, 2016
