At Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on Saturday, January 20, Natasha Jonas defeated Mikaela Mayer via a close split decision to keep her IBF welterweight title.
After a fantastic bout, it was difficult to decide between the two competitors; however, two judges gave Jonas(15-2-1, 9 KOs) the victory, while the other thought Mayer(19-2, 5KOs) from US had the better of the fight.
After landing some solid body blows early in the bout, Jonas a 39-year old boxer from England truly found her groove in round three, switching between head and body strikes to keep Mayer, 33, at bay.
But when Mayer hit a stunning right and Jonas found herself under pressure following a self-assured start, the home team’s favorite had enough to think about. Mayer showed remarkable fortitude in confronting an antagonistic audience, and in the fifth round, she again stunned Jonas with some well-placed body blows.
It was getting harder to predict the result when Jonas landed a hook in round six and both boxers enthralled the crowd in round seven with a kick on a gear. In the last moments, both competitors gave it their all, with Mayer going for a knockout that never came, and Jonas battling a left eye injury.
“It takes two to tango. I know this girl here is going to be absolutely devastated with that result because I’ve been there and it feels like the world is over,” said Jonas in media reports.
“She is in my top two people I’ve fought, she’s a very skilled operator, her time will come again. She beats a lot of the champions that are already here,” she added.
“So please use that as motivation to go on and get the title that you deserve and become a two-weight world champion,” she continued.
Mayer was of the opinion that she should have won and desired a rematch.
“I think you could see at the end, 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 and landed the cleaner shots,” said Mayer in media reports.
“At the end of the day I think that fight is worth seeing again. I didn’t have a rematch clause on my side but I’m hoping we can get this fight done again for the fans, if they want it,” she added.
