Jonas beats Mayer by split decision to keep IBF title،
Natasha Jonas scored the best victory of her career on Saturday, defeating Mikaela Mayer by split decision in the first defense of her IBF welterweight world title.
After a close fight and fierce exchanges, Jonas secured scores of 96-94 and 96-95 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. The other judge scored it 97-93 for Mayer.
Jonas, 39 (15-2-1, 9 KOs), who turned professional in 2017 after competing as an amateur in the 2012 Olympics and giving birth to a daughter in 2015, will consider a rematch, as well as fights. against Katie Taylor, Chantelle Cameron and Lauren Price as she moves closer to retirement by the end of 2024.
“She is one of the two best fighters I have faced and she will be devastated by this defeat, but she should use it as motivation to become a two-weight world champion,” Jonas said of Mayer, the former unified junior lightweight champion. “The only person I’ve fought who’s better is Katie (Taylor, who beat Jonas on points in May 2021).
I had a good start, harder, cleaner punches, and came out strong at the end. I gave up some of the middle rounds. This is probably my last year in boxing, and we want to make it the best chapter in the book.”
Mayer, 33 (19-2, 5 KOs), an Olympian who fights in Colorado Springs and Las Vegas, felt she deserved the victory and is hoping for a rematch.
“I thought I did enough to win, I outclassed her with punches and work, landing clean shots and backing her up against the ropes,” Mayer said. “I think this fight is worth watching again. I didn't have a rematch clause on my side, but I hope we can get it back. It's disappointing, but what am I going to do ?I hope Natasha is going to be the stand-up champion and give me a rematch. I think I justified the rematch. I knew from the first 10 seconds that it was going to be a battle and halfway through, I thought it was the fight of the year.
Mayer, who reigned as unified junior lightweight champion for two years until fellow American Alycia Baumgardner beat her on points in October 2022, moved up in weight to face Jonas in front of hometown fans in the Englishwoman, and it never seemed too much for her.
After fighting at lightweight and catchweight (between junior welterweight and welterweight) last year, the American looked strong in her welterweight debut.
Southpaw Jonas, who stopped Kandi Wyatt in July to win the vacant IBF belt, landed a few clean shots on the counter in the first two rounds, as Mayer advanced. An entertaining fourth round began with Mayer landing two nifty combinations, before Jonas responded with a volley of punches. Jonas had a great spell early in the fifth round and she recorded a flurry of quick punches as she gained confidence. But in the second half of the fifth round, Mayer threw heavier punches and she dropped a sharp right hand on the champion.
Mayer was more powerful, which was impressive considering it was her first fight at welterweight, but in a brilliant seventh round, Jonas went on the attack. Both had good shots in the seventh, and it was difficult to separate them, but in the eighth, Jonas – perhaps tired after her efforts in the seventh – was caught and her head was thrown back by a hook from the left at close range. .
Jonas got off to another strong start in the ninth round, catching Mayer with a left hand, then landed a right hook to the jaw later in the round as the American left some openings. Jonas continued to finish strongly in the 10th and final round, but it was difficult to argue convincingly who should have won such a close, high-quality competition.
