British fighter covered in red paint after can thrown at her before world title fight

British fighter Sandy Ryan claims she was ‘set up’ after being splattered with paint outside her hotel before losing her world title to rival Mikaela Mayer.

The two welterweight fighters had been locked in a bitter feud before the fight, centring around Mayer’s former coach Kay Koroma who now works with Ryan.

However, the rivalry escalated further in the hours before the fight when Ryan was bizarrely doused in red paint as she left her hotel to head to the fight venue.

Despite being advised to pull out of the fight, Ryan still entered the ring but lost her WBO welterweight title in a closely-fought majority decision defeat.

Two judges scored the fight 97-93 and 96-94 in favour of Mayer, with the eyeing scoring it 95-95.

The 31-year-old later admitted that the pre-fight incident had unsettled her and pointed the blame at her opponent Mayer’s camp.

‘I left my hotel room to meet my team downstairs, there were two cars there waiting for my team, I was ready to get in,’ Ryan told ESPN as she recounted the incident.

‘I was turning around to get into the car next to me and something smashed me in my stomach, I looked down and it was a tin of paint.

‘Looked up and there was a guy with a hood running to a car and then they drove off. It was a hit-and-run.

‘We’ve got pictures and videos. It is definitely a set-up from her team, what else would it be? It has got to be, who else is going to hit and run me.’

Mayer, meanwhile, denied any responsibility for the pre-fight incident with Ryan and insisted that was a line she would never cross.

‘I was just as surprised as everyone else. I was still upstairs, waiting for the call that my car was there,’ Mayer told Sky Sports.

‘I heard that paint had been thrown on Sandy. I had no idea. I was shocked. I thought it was horrible. I would never go that far.