In the electric atmosphere of Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, Natasha Jonas, a warrior with belts in two divisions, fiercely guarded her IBF welterweight crown. The battle, thick with tension, ended in a hairbreadth split decision, tipping in Jonas’ favor against the formidable ex-junior lightweight sovereign Mikaela Mayer. The judges were split, two siding with Jonas at 96-94 and 96-95, and one favoring Mayer at 97-93.
In the early rounds, Jonas, a blur of speed and agility, unleashed a volley of sharp precis punches. Mayer, towering in her strength, slowly turned the tides, her right hands finding their mark and pinning Jonas to the ropes.
The middle rounds saw Jonas and Mayer exchanging in the center of the ring, going tit for tat with punishing body blows. But, in the final two rounds, Mayer finished strong with relentless pressure, while Jonas answered with quick counters.
Jonas said, “I had a good start. I landed harder and cleaner shots. I think toward the end she outworked me a little. I’ll give her a couple of the middle rounds. But I came on strong at the end.
“I know she is going to be absolutely devastated with the result because I’ve been there. It feels like the world is over. She is on my top two people that I’ve fought. She is very skilled. Her time will come again. She beat a lot of the champions. Please use that as motivation to become a two-weight world champion.”
Mayer said, “I thought I did enough to win. I would have given her the first round or two. But after that, I feel like I outpunched her. I landed the cleaner shots. At the end of the day, I think that this fight is worth seeing again. Like she said, it was one of the toughest fights she’s had. I didn’t have a rematch clause on my side, but I’m hoping we can get this fight done again.
“It’s definitely disappointing. But what am I going to do? I just hope that Natasha will be the standup champ that she is and give me another shot at the belt. I feel like I deserve it. I think they want to see it. I only believe that rematches should happen if they’re warranted.”
In other action:
Super Middleweight: Zak Chelli (15-2-1, 7 KOs) UD 12 Jack Cullen (22-5-1, 10 KOs), Scores: 116-113, 115-114, and 116-112. Chelli won Cullen’s British and Commonwealth Titles.
Featherweight: Karriss Artingstall (6-0, 1 KO) UD 8 Lila dos Santos Furtado (9-2, 1 KO), Score: 77-75.
Middleweight: Ste Clarke (1-0, 1 KO) TKO 3 Vasif Mamedov (3-47-5), 1:53.
Super Middleweight: Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs) TKO 6 Mickey Ellison (14-7, 5 KOs), 2:21.
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