BY JAKE DONOVAN
December 17, 2023
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
Natasha Jonas has never shied away from a challenge but is still in search of that career defining win.
She firmly believes that moment will come in her next outing.
“A win over Mikaela Mayer will be the best name on my record so far,” Jonas noted upon the announcement of her upcoming IBF welterweight title defense versus the American. “I respect everything she’s done and will prepare myself for her best.”
The two will meet atop a January 20 show that will air live on Sky Sports in the U.K. and ESPN+ in the U.S. from M&S Bank Arena in Jonas’ hometown of Liverpool, England. Jonas remains a slight betting favorite (-150 according to BetUS; -192 according to FanDuel as of December 12) in what will mark the first defense of the IBF welterweight title she claimed in an eighth-round stoppage of Kandi Wyatt on July 2 in Manchester.
Mayer (19-1, 5KOs) moves up in weight for her third straight fight. The former unified junior lightweight titlist debuted at lightweight in April, then junior welterweight in September—both resulting in wins—before another move up the scales in a bid to become a two-division titlist.
Jonas accomplished that mark with her aforementioned victory over Wyatt. The feat saw her drop down one year after making a three-division jump to the 154-pound junior middleweight division where she unified the WBO, WBC and IBF titles in successive fights.
Previous title bids saw Jonas (14-2-1, 9KOs) push then-unbeaten WBC junior lightweight titlist Terri Harper to the brink in an August 2020 draw that was among the year’s best fights. She did the same in a narrow defeat to Katie Taylor, who was undefeated at the time of their May 2021 undisputed lightweight championship in Manchester nearly nine years after their memorable 2012 Olympic quarterfinals meeting also won by Taylor.
The chance to validate her second title reign in a clash versus Mayer (19-1, 5KOs) was welcomed with open arms by Jonas, a 39-year-young British southpaw who understands the threat that awaits her next month at home.
“I was part of the Sky commentary team for her fight against [Alycia] Baumgardner, which I thought she won,” Jonas insisted of Mayer’s disputed split decision defeat in their lineal, WBC, IBF and WBO 130-pound unification last October in London. “She’s got a lot of strengths. She’s got a good jab, good footwork, good IQ. “She’s well-schooled. She came through the Olympic ranks that I did.
“I just think I can handle what she brings and do better.”
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