- Oh, I got a person in front of me, I'm in the ring.
(bell dings)
(punching)
(rock music)
(bell dings)
My name is Mikaela Mayer, I am
your 2016 U.S. Olympian for Women's Boxing.
Now 8-0 as a professional and
your NABF Junior Lightweight Champion.
So I randomly picked up boxing
as a teenager, I started somewhat
late for someone who was pursuing the Olympic dream.
I walked into the gym and I was
seventeen years old, totally fell in love with the sport.
Made the Olympic team when I was 26
and recently turned pro last August.
I signed with Top Rank promotions
as their first and only female.
It wasn't til about last year that
promoters started picking up women.
So it's really a revolutionary time for women's boxing.
I really don't know my skills are gonna translate.
I guess it depends how realistic this is actually gonna be.
Rookie, pro, or champion?
I'm a champion, so do I press champion?
Oh my gosh, it's like a movie,
it's like I'm sitting in a chair in a movie.
Whoa!
It's a boxing gym.
Oh my gosh, okay so it's taking me.
I'm walking through the gym right now.
(laughs)
And I'm in front of the heavy bag.
- [Male Voice From Video Game] I got hit harder than that.
- Oh. Oh god.
(chime)
- Let's go over the basics first.
(Mikalea scoffs)
Get the fundamentals down and the rest'll be easy.
- Oh my god, it's giving me directions on how to block.
I know how to do dat.
Now I'm on a treadmill, okay.
Now there's a person in front of me, a dummy.
(chime)
- You fought hard out
of the ring to get here, now fight
hard in there and win.
- Oh, I got a person in front of me, I'm in the ring!
His name is Luke O'Grady, he's got zero wins by K.O.
Looks like a leprechaun.
(bell dings)
- Oh (bleep)
(clapping)
Oh no, my headphones.
(grunts)
I wanna move.
Oh I dropped him, I dropped him I'm done.
(laughs)
He got back up, oh (bleep).
Round two.
It's weird that I can't turn around him.
(punch)
(cheering)
Okay I knocked him down again.
Woo!
I forgot you could block (bleep).
Nope.
If you block and punch off, it works.
Ah, he's really in my face.
(pants)
Okay I knocked him down again, he's pissed.
Oh yeah, done, I'm done.
(claps)
That was a good workout, that
should be a fitness game; it's
just weird cus you're right in front of
your opponent and it totally goes
against like what Coach Al tells me.
Just you're right there in front,
so you have to block and punch off.
I like literally just use my "boxing" IQ for that game.
I wanna practice throwing other punches
cus I felt like the 1-2 was like working
and I don't know my distance with my hooks yet.
(bell dings)
- [Announcer] El Tigre!
- I'm fighting the guy that's 35 and 25.
That's a (bleep) record.
I got big muscles in the game.
(bell dings)
(punching)
Woo!
That's (bleep).
(panting)
- [Male Voice] One punch at a time.
- Okay, I got him back.
I feel like I'm hitting him with
shots that should go down, like
you have to be very defensive I feel like.
(punching)
- [Male Voice] Don't let up.
- (sighs) Yes!
No, no, no.
No!
(distorted voice)
- [Male Voice] Landing hits like that.
- Nice, body shot.
- [Referee] 4...5...6
(punches)
- Ugh, come on.
I hit him with a million punches and he hits me with one.
- [Referee] 6...7...8
(punches)
- Nice!
Yes! (laughs)
A little different than real life boxing,
only because you're not moving and circling.
You're standing right in front of your opponent.
I think when I first started,
I was just tryna throw 1-2's to the head.
But it actually wants you to dip and slip
and roll and work the body, low high.
I wasn't big on videos but I could
definitely see myself playing virtual reality games.
(light rock music)