Carl Froch says he agrees with the decision the judges came up with, giving the hometown fighter, IBF female welterweight champion Natasha Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs), a ten-round split decision victory over visiting fighter, American Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) last night at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England.
Froch’s Take: A Close Call and Jonas’ Strong Finish
Froch calls it a “close fight” and feels that the 39-year-old Jonas cemented her win by finishing strong in the tenth round, which was arguably her worst of the fight, getting shaken to her boots by Mayer.
The scores were 97-93 for Mayer, 96-94, and 96-95 for Jonas. This writer had it 98-92 for Mayer. It wasn’t a close fight at all. Mayer dominated from start to finish.
“I thought it was one that was really close and could have gone either way. I thought Natasha Jonas was brilliant in countering,” said Carl Froch to talkSPORT Boxing, discussing last night’s controversial ten-round split decision win for IBF welterweight female champion Natasha Jonas over Mikaela Mayer.
The basic problem is the fight wasn’t close, and it’s unclear whether Froch was asleep or watching another contest because the 39-year-old Jonas looked old, overmatched, and was outworked by the younger fighter.
“When it looked like she [Jonas] was under caution and taking too many shots, she would then fire back and come back in the next round a bit stronger,” said Froch. “I’m not saying it was a robbery because I don’t think it was. It was one of them if Mikaela Mayer had her hand held high, You’d say, ‘Fair enough.'”
Jonas would come back after getting riddled with punches from Mayer to land one or two shots, but she was getting badly outworked.
The Rematch: A Potential Resolution?
“Natasha Jonas had her hand held high, and you’ll just say, ‘It’s one of them close fights that could have gone either way.’ It’s a rematch that you’d want to see.
“I don’t think it was any real complaints about that [the scoring]. It was close, and it was what you’d like. I thought Nathasha pulled it off, and she finished strong. So, she deserves the win,” said Froch.
It’s unclear what Froch is talking about here, with him saying that Jonas finished strong. Mayer dominated the ninth and tenth rounds, did virtually all the punching, and had Natasha hurt & holding on. Jonas did NOT finish strong.
