Natasha Jonas will go away to decide whether it is time for her to retire from boxing after her defeat to Lauren Price at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday night.
Jonas was beaten comfortably by Price in a unanimous decision loss to the Olympic champion, who looked every bit one of women’s boxing’s elite operators on the path to undisputed status.
The 40-year-old surrendered her IBF and WBC welterweight belts as Price added to her WBA title to become unified champion while headlining a historic all-female card.
It could well mark the final time Jonas steps into the ring to compete as she weighs up her next step.
“Natasha has got to have time away with her family and her daughter, go on holiday, and she’ll make her decision when she comes back,” trainer Joe Gallagher told Sky Sports.
“Whatever she chooses to do I’ll back her. A year ago I was asking her to retire after she beat Mikaela Mayer so everybody knows how I feel about it. She (Price) was just a little bit too quick and too sharp on the night.”
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Natasha Jonas admitted Lauren Price’s speed decided the fight and she will take some time off before making a decision on her boxing future
Jonas, no stranger to question marks over her future over the last year, did herself allude to retirement after the fight.
“I think emotions are running high right now and Joe has been asking me to retire for a very long time,” she said in her post-fight interview.
“I actually enjoy sitting next to you Andy (Scott), Anna (Woolhouse) and Johnny (Nelson) and commentating so maybe we look at that afterwards.
“But now I’ll go home and spend time with my daughter.”
Price had repeatedly warned during the build-up that she would prove too fast, too young and too good for Jonas. She proved as much in emphatic style, torching the experience, toughness, skill and intelligence of Jonas with a perfect cocktail of quick feet, lightning hands, shrewd disguise, clever variation and an unrelenting output from every corner of the ring.
In the end, it was less about what Jonas didn’t do and more so about the level of talent staring her down.
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Lauren Price says she wants to defend her world titles back in Wales and has her sights firmly on the winner of the Mikaela Mayer versus Sandy Ryan rematch
“Lauren Price was quick out the blocks, I thought I had it 2-1 at one point, I thought Natasha was pick-pocketing really well with the backhand over the lead hand, but after that she found her groove and started pulling away and Tasha was beginning to get Lauren into situations where she’s about to pull the trigger, Lauren could see it coming and upped the pace,” said Gallagher.
“Somebody said to me ‘it was like (Anthony) Crolla’, he was brilliant in camp for his last fight and then when he got in it was a split second off with his timing and that’s what it was for Natasha.
“But take nothing away from Lauren, it was her night, a fantastic performance for her and she’ll go back to Wales and we wish her good luck for the future in her career.
“I thought down the stretch, we did manage to land some decent backhands over the top, but Tasha couldn’t get the second or third off whereas Lauren was firing off. Full credit.”
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Jonas made an epic ringwalk for her fight with Price and had the Royal Albert Hall crowd on their feet
Jonas has long cemented her legacy as one of the leading pioneers of women’s boxing, becoming the first ever British female boxer to compete at an Olympic Games at London 2012 before going on to become a world champion at the third attempt in February 2022.
She has since become the first woman to win the British Boxing Board of Control’s British Boxer of the Year in 2022, as well as becoming a two-weight world champion amid a glittering period in the latter years of her career.
“What a venue. Made history. I’ve got to say a massive thank you to Tasha, the perfect dance partner,” said Price after the fight.
“A complete honour to share the ring with her and I respect her, not just for what she’s done for women’s boxing, but for boxing.
“It’s been an honour sharing the ring, so thank you.”
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Mikaela Mayer had her sights set on fighting the winner of Jonas-Price
Price did not shy from setting her sights on undisputed dominance in the near future as she now targets a fight against the winner of Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan’s rematch, which is scheduled for March 29.
Mayer came up second best in a split decision defeat to Jonas in Liverpool in January 2024, but clinched the WBO welterweight title when she beat Ryan by majority decision in New York last September.
“I’m not sure (if Price can become undisputed),” said Gallagher. “I think Mikaela Mayer is a very good fighter. There is unfinished business, Sandy Ryan beat Lauren in the amateurs so she’d be up for that.
“Lauren stepping up tonight with a better class person and performing like that will give her huge confidence again. What’s to say she can’t be undisputed? But Mayer is a good all-around fighter.”
Watch Mikaela Mayer vs Sandy Ryan live on Sky Sports on March 30
