Lauren Price (9-0, 2 KOs) produced a dominating performance against Natasha Jonas (16-3-1, 9 KOs) to unify the IBF, WBA, and WBC welterweight titles on Friday at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Price barely put a foot wrong during a lopsided unanimous decision victory. The scorecards read 98-92, 98-93 and 100-90.
The first round was relatively quiet with Price landing some good left hooks to the body. The second round opened with Jonas landing a left hand to the head, but as the round grew on, Price’s left hand started to land. As the round came to an end, Price landed a double right hook to the body, then the head.
Both women cancelled each other out with an almost identical straight lefts to begin round three. It was a tough round to split as the pair also matched each other with a right hand, but it was Price who pressed the fight, with Jonas looking a bit uneasy with the pace. Price started quickly in the fourth, using her rapid jab to good effect. Jonas appeared to stumble back halfway through the round from an incoming combination but soon found her feet. Price was finding her rhythm, finishing the round strong in the exchange.
Price again initiated a high pace to start the fifth, landing a good right hand. Jonas took two more shots to the head in a difficult round for the Liverpudlian. Going into the sixth round, the Sky Sports commentary team had given Price every single round, Jonas needed to make an impact going into the second half of the fight. She would press from the opening bell, having success with a double jab. However, Price avoided much of any attack with good movement.
Price had slowed the pace considerably in the seventh, which would allow Jonas the press more, but the Welshwoman took the round with relative ease, working off the right jab and following up with the left hand in any exchange. A similar theme carried through into the eighth as Jonas’ plan to try and creep in and land on the inside was no match for Price’s fast hands and rapid feet.
Price’s dominance was again seen through the ninth round, opening up with a double jab and later landing a left-right-left combination. Jonas was far from beaten up going into the tenth and final round but certainly needed the stoppage to win, but Price would land single shots jumping out of distance with little comeback. Jonas came forward to land a good overhand left, but Price responded with a left hook to the head as the final bell rang.
Undercard Results
Caroline Dubois (11-0 5 KOs) had the first victory as the WBC world lightweight champion, claiming a majority-decision win against South Korea’s Bo Mi Re Shin (18-3-3, 10 KOs). One judge scored it even at 95-95, with two judges scoring wide for Dubois at 98-92 and 98-93. Dubois controlled the first eight rounds in a controlled and commanding fashion. The 24-year-old seemed to have grown into her role as world champion. It was only until the ninth and tenth rounds that Chin had an effect on the Londoner. After a clash of heads in the ninth, Chin followed with a right to the head to stun Dubois but would make it to the bell. The South Korean went looking for the stoppage in the tenth with wild combinations; one shot would catch Dubois, adding to a difficult ending, while also taking an uppercut just before the final bell.
Kariss Artingstall (7-0) became the British super featherweight champion with a unanimous decision win against recent world title challenger Raven Chapman (9-2, 2 KOs). Chapman was down in the second from a left hand in a one-sided contest. The scorecards read 97-92, 98-91 and 96-93.
Chole Watson (8-1) lost the EBU European flyweight title in her first defence against Jasmina Zapotoczna (9-1). Watson came in as the slight favourite, but Zapotoczna sneaked the split decision victory in a fight that could have gone either way. Watson had one score of 97-93, with two judges going in Zapotoczna’s favour at 96-94.
20-year-old Francesca Hennessy (6-0) continued the perfect start to her career with a routine unanimous-decision victory over Gemma Ruegg(8-13-1). Hennessy maintains her early push up the rankings, defending her WBA Inter-continental super bantamweight belt. The scorecard came in at 80-72.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
