Welterweight 5′ 8½″ Sandy Ryan was born in Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, 30-years-old as of March of 2024, has been boxing professionally since July of 2021. She came from the amateurs, and in May of 2021 she signed with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.
In her amateur career, she won a gold medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and silver at the 2014 World Championships. She was one of the Team Great Britain’s leading hopes for a medal, and then she decided to turn pro with STN Sports.
On July 31, 2021, Ryan, 144 1/2, made her pro debut against Kirstie Bavington, 144 1/4, at the Matchroom HQ Garden, in Brentwood, winning the six-round bout by points with a 60-54 score.
On October 1, 2021, at the Allianz Cloud, Milan, Lombardia, Italy, Ryan, 144.5, won by a fourth round KO over Aleksandra Vujovic, 141 3/4.
On December 18, 2021, at the Manchester Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom, Ryan, 143, won by a third round TKO over Maria Soledad Capriolo, 143. The bout was scheduled for eight rounds.
On March 12, 2022, at the Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, Erica Farias, 141, won a ten-round split decision over Ryan, 144.5.
On August 6, 2022, at the Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, Ryan, 139½, won a ten-round unanimous decision over the much more experienced Erica Farias,138½, of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The two were fighting for the International Super Lightweight WBC title. Final judges scores were 94-96, 92-98, and 94-96. This was a rematch for these two with Farias winning the first bout by a split decision.
On November 26, 2022, at the Wembley Arena, Wemble, UK, Ryan won a ten-round unanimous decision over Anahi Sanchez. The two were fighting for the WBC International Super Lightweight title.
On April 22, 2023 – At the Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff Ryan, 146 ½, won by a ten-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Marie Pier Houle, 145 ½, of Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada. The two were fighting for the vacant WBO welterweight world title.
On September 23, 2023, Ryan, 146 1/2, had a controversial split draw with Jessica McCaskill, 146 1/2. The fight took place at the Caribe Royale Orlando, Orlando, Florida. They were fighting for the IBO, WBO, WBC, and WBA Welterweight titles. The final scoring was 95-95, 93-97, and 96-94.
On that fight ESPN wrote, “It’s not clear what fight judge Mark Streisand was watching with his 97-93 scorecard for McCaskill (Michael Ross had the fight 96-94 for Ryan and Barry Lindenman had it 95-95), but it was not the fight I saw watching on television from hundreds of miles away. The DAZN commentators were apoplectic over the Streisand scorecard and they weren’t wrong. Ryan did everything possible to win the fight. She controlled the ring, controlled the pace, had the sounder strategy and landed the more impactful shots throughout the 10 rounds. Other than the third round, where McCaskill got Ryan’s nose to bleed, there was not a clear round for McCaskill the whole night — although there were two to three that could have gone either way.”
On March 23, 2024, at the Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, Ryan, 146 lb., from Derbyshire, United Kingdom, made it a short night when she fought Terri Harper, 146 1/4, of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, and winning by a fourth round RTD when Harper did not come out for the fourth round. The two were fighting for the WBO Welterweight title. The fight was scheduled for ten rounds, at 2 minutes per round.
About the Author
