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Natasha Jonas retained her 147-pound title against Mikaela Mayer on Saturday in Liverpool, England. Barely.
Jonas defeated her American counterpart by a split decision in front of her hometown fans at Echo Arena. One judge had Mayer winning, 97-93, but the other two scored it for Jonas, 96-94 and 96-95.
Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs) has now won six consecutive fights since she lost a close decision to 135-pound champ Katie Taylor in 2021.
“I know Mikaela Mayer will be gutted,” Jonas said immediately after her victory. “She is in the top two people who I have fought. Please use this as motivation to get the title you deserve and become a two-weight world champion.”
The bout was the firefight many observers expected, with both boxers landing their share of hard punches.
Mayer was the busier fighter, throwing 181 more punches than Jonas. However, Jonas was more accurate. Mayer outlanded her only 149 to 125. That made it difficult to separate the two on the scorecards.
Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) hopes that Jonas will give her a rematch.
“It’s disappointing, but what am I going to do?” she said. “I just hope that Tasha will be the stand-up champ that she is and give me another shot.”
Jonas, 39, evidently doesn’t plan to take part in two many more fights. She alluded to retirement in her post-bout comments.
“Unfortunately, I can’t be around forever,” she said. “… This is probably my last year in boxing.”
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