Natasha Jonas Nips Unlucky Mikaela Mayer in a Liverpool Nail-Biter

In a rousing fight Natasha Jonas held on to her welterweight title on Saturday in England.

Barely.

“We knew it was going to be a barnburner,” said Jonas. “It takes two to tango.”

Hometown fighter Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs) won by split decision over the taller Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) to retain the IBF title after 10 two-minute rounds in Liverpool, England. It was a match that saw no lulls.

Imagine if they were three-minute rounds.

America’s Mayer walked into the arena knowing that fighting in England was not advantageous, but still was determined to beat Jonas on her home turf. Despite a spirited effort that saw the Southern Californian press the issue every round, two judges favored the British fighter.

The shorter Jonas walked in known for her counter-punching skills and shocking power. It was in full effect in the opening round as she countered with body shots every time Mayer fired a jab.

Mayer changed tactics immediately.

“I knew from the first 10 seconds of that fight it was going to be a battle,” Mayer said.

After seeing her jabs nullified, Mayer dispensed with jabbing and attacked with lead rights through Jonas’ defense. The taller blonde fighter then opened up with a six-punch combination that forced Jonas to cover up.

The fight was on.

Mayer always moved forward and quickly realized that volume punching was the key to beating the conservative approach of Joans. Every time Mayer unleashed a volley of blows Jonas covered up. And when the American fighter got in close, Jonas resorted to clinching and Mayer continued punching.

It seemed to be clear that Mayer was winning those rounds.

“I outpunched her and landed the cleaner shots,” Mayer said.

A few times Jonas did not clinch and rallied back with quick flurries while in the pocket. Those were her best rounds as both exchanged furious blows. But most times Jonas grabbed and clinched inside.

In the last three rounds it seemed Mayer had gained the advantage and that forced Jonas to give up her counter-punching mode. The Liverpool fighter became more aggressive and connected with three and four-punch combinations. Fans were delirious by the action.

Though Mayer had dispensed with feints for most of the fight, after feeling Jonas power shots the American fighter began feinting. And when Mayer opened up it was with four-punch combinations.

Both fighters absorbed blows well, but swelling was visible from the punishment. After 10 action-packed rounds the scores were read with one judge favoring Mayer 97-93, and two others siding with Jonas  96-95, 96-94. She retains the IBF world title by split-decision.

“I came on strong at the end,” said Jonas.

Once again Mayer was not given credit from judges in England.

“It’s definitely disappointing. What am I going to do,” said Mayer whose other loss was in England by split decision to Alycia Baumgardner. “Halfway, I thought it was going to be fight of the year.”

It definitely was exciting.

Other Bouts

Zak Chelli (15-2-1, 7 KOs) won the rematch against Jack Cullen (22-5-1, 10 KOs) in yet another evenly-matched fight that saw neither able to gain a distinctive advantage. Three judges saw Chelli the winner this time.

It was more than three years ago during the pandemic that the two super middleweights first met outdoors and fought to a split draw. This time Chelli was able to prove through his accuracy that he was the slightly better fighter by scores 116-113, 116-112, 115-114.

In a female featherweight clash Karriss Artinstall (6-0) used a first round knockdown to gain a quick advantage over Brazil’s Lila Furtado (9-2) and hold on in an eight-round fight. Furtado rallied furiously but was unable to cause a dent in the taller Artinstall. Score was 77-75 by the referee/judge.

A middleweight fight saw Stephen Clarke (1-0) score a knockout win over Vasif Mamedov (3-47-5) who turned his back and was surprised the fight was stopped for his action in the third round. It was Clarke’s pro debut.

Aaron McKenna (18-0) remained undefeated by knockout in the sixth round over Mickey Ellison (14-7) in their super middleweight fight. McKenna trained extensively in Southern California after turning pro.

Photo credit: Jamie McPhilimey / BOXXER

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