Mikaela Mayer has confirmed her hunch.

The damage is already done, as the unbeaten junior lightweight was unable to proceed with her scheduled fight this past Tuesday due to her coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test coming back positive. The wish on behalf of the 2016 U.S. Olympian and current rising contender was for a chance to retest in hopes of the first result being a false positive.

Instead, she would receive that validated her initial suspicion, though coming two days after having to endure her second canceled fight in 2020.

“Received an email from physician involved in my case stating: “You are not sick & not infectious & your blood tests confirm this. Your case is the perfect example of why athletic commissions will need to change their process in the near future,” Mayer (12-0, 5KOs) revealed through her verified social media account on Thursday.

Mayer learned of her positive test result on Sunday, upon arriving in Las Vegas from Houston where she spent the entirety of her training camp for her planned June 9 clash with Nigeria’s Helen Joseph at MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom. All participants are required to submit to testing upon arrival, at which point they are isolated until their results come back. Once cleared, they are permitted to enter the MGM facility through a secured entrance and are required to remain in the area known as “The Bubble.”

Those who test positive are denied such access and immediately required to leave the site. That was the fate which Mayer accepted, however begrudgingly as she was asymptomatic and confident that she no longer carried the infectious disease.

The latest medical findings in her case validate that claim.

“My antibody test showed I was infected a few months back (pos IgG),” noted Mayer, whose test in Houston just prior to traveling to Vegas came back negative. “My body was simply still shedding the virus which resulted in a positive test despite not being sick or infectious.”

Mayer confirmed to BoxingScene.com that the test taken in Houston was via nasal swab, whereas the test in Vegas was an oral swab. It was suggested by the boxer and her manager, George Ruiz that perhaps both testing methods should be made available for the events in Las Vegas, for checks and balances.

It is a matter that Top Rank and the Nevada State Athletic Commission are prepared to look into, as the goal is to always learn and improve with this being uncharted territory for boxing. For now, the ongoing global pandemic forces those in power to err on the side of caution although there exists a limited amount of flexibility in the current COVID-19 protocol.

“If a test were to come up indeterminate, we are permitted to give them a re-test,” Brad Jacobs, COO of Top Rank confirmed to BoxingScene.com. “If the test is positive, we must remove that person from ’the bubble’, as we need to look out for the health and safety of all of our participants and working staff.”

Mayer’s onsite test result also required her assigned team members to leave the site. It included trainer Kay Koroma, who was unable to work with two other boxers on the June 9—rookie heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (4-0, 4KOs) and unbeaten featherweight titlist Shakur Stevenson (14-0, 8KOs), both of whom went on to win by stoppage.

Mayer was forced to watch from the comfort of her home in Colorado Springs. This time, the show went on without her, unlike her planned appearance on a March 17 show at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City which was canceled in its entirety. Mayer was scheduled to face former titlist Melissa Hernandez on a St. Patrick’s Day card headlined by featherweight contender Michael Conlan, only for the show to be canceled due to the initial wave of the current COVID-19 crisis.

Also removed from the schedule was a March 14 show at the same venue, to have been headlined by Stevenson who was able to get his make-up call this week.

Meanwhile, Mayer will await the result of another test to which she submitted at a drive-thru facility in Denver, at the tail end of her lengthy road trip from Las Vegas on Sunday. Chances are, it will produce the same negative result that came with her test in Houston, which should fully clear her for combat.

As Top Rank is running shows every Tuesday and Thursday through the end of July, her hope is to land on a future card within the next few weeks. Until then, she can proudly serve as a case study for deeper examination into current testing procedures.

“Info from my case will help to adjust [COVID] testing protocol to avoid similar issues in the future,” notes Mayer.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox