Ryan says a member of Mayer’s camp hit her with a paint can before the fight

English boxer Sandy Ryan accused Mikaela Mayer, her opponent in Friday night’s title fight in New York, of staging a pre-fight stunt in which Ryan was hit by a paint can as she left her hotel earlier in the evening.

Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) lost her WBO welterweight title to Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) by majority decision, with judges scoring the fight 95-95, 97-93 and 96-94.

Preparing for the fight at Madison Square Garden was very personal for both, as Ryan had worked with Mayer’s former long-time trainer Kay Koroma. Mayer broke up with Koroma when he decided to work with Ryan, which she saw as a betrayal.

As Ryan left her hotel to drive to the venue on Friday, she was struck by an open paint can belonging to an unknown man. She said she felt something hit her stomach and then she saw a man in a hoodie run to a car and drive away. Ryan was uninjured and continued to the venue after changing in her hotel room.

She and her team told ESPN they believed it was a member of Mayer’s camp, an accusation Mayer has denied.

“Mikaela Mayer will do it,” Ryan said before the fight. “It was definitely a ploy by their team. What else could it be? It must be. I am from the UK. Who knew when I would come out of my hotel to go to the venue?”

Mayer, from Colorado Springs, Colo., bounced back from a split decision loss to Natasha Jones in January. Ryan was going for her second win this year.