Undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor 18-0 (6) retained her WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles with a hard-fought 10-round unanimous decision win over Natasha Jonas 9-2-1 (7) at the AO Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday night.
The fight was the main support bout to the heavyweight clash between Joseph Parker 29-2 (21) and Dereck Chisora 32-11 (23).
In her 12th world title fight the 34-year-old Irish champion started well, keeping the hard-hitting challenger at range. Both boxers were warned to watch their heads after an accidental clash of heads in the second round. But as the bout wore on southpaw Jonas, 36, worked her way back into the fight.
Jonas came on strong in the back half of the fight. The seventh-round was her best frame of the bout as she let her hands go and threw to the body relentlessly. There was good two-way action between both women in the eighth while Taylor got the better of the action in the ninth.
The 10th stanza saw both combatants empty their tanks as they looked to secure the win.
When the dust settled the judges could not have had it closer. Judges Michael Alexander and Andreas Stenberg both had the bout 96-95, while judge Yury Koptsey had it slightly wider at 96-94, all for Taylor.
The champion praised her former amateur rival after the fight.
“What a fight, every time myself and Natasha have fought it has been like that,” Taylor said. “I had a bit of a slow start, but I thought I won the championship rounds and came out with a great win.
“It is top-quality boxing. You have skill, you have heart, you have grit, you have everything you need for an absolutely thrilling fight. Eddie (Hearn) just said he feels sorry for Parker and Chisora following that fight. We were saying all week it could have been a headline fight and that shows why.
“I knew that the rounds were close and I had to win the end rounds. I showed heart and had to dig deep.”
Taylor won her first world title when she stopped Anahi Ester Sanchez in seven rounds to claim the vacant WBA 135-pound title in just her seventh pro bout in Cardiff, Wales in October 2017.
Jonas didn’t dispute the result but called for a rematch due to the closeness of the fight.
“I knew it was close, I knew I had to put it in,” Jonas said “I said that every time I have to step up, I do.
“When she is willing and ready, I will do a trilogy. I feel I belong at this level and I want to stay at it. I want to win belts, I want to win championships, I want to be a champion.”
Boxing is built on rivalries and a second fight between Taylor and Jonas wouldn’t go astray.
