Natasha Jonas - Mikaela Mayer summary online, round by round, stats and highlights
Natasha Jonas edges Mikaela Mayer to keep IBF world title
Natasha Jonas gets controversial split decision over Mikaela Mayer
In a controversial decision that will be seen as a hometown bias, Natasha Jonas edged out Mikaela Mayer to get a split decision and hang onto her IBF World Welterweight title.
I would not call it a robbery, personally scoring the fight as a 97-97 draw, but I can certainly see how Mayer’s camp can see it that way. She landed heavy shots, hurtful shots, throughout the bout. But Jonas responded at every turn with clean counters and outstanding work to the body that kept everyround on a razor’s edge.
In fact, there were only four rounds that were clear and decisive wins for either fighter: Jonas clearly won round two, while Mayer clearly won rounds four, five, and six. Every other round could have gone either way.
Every. Single. One.
Jonas came out the faster fighter, showing an impressive turn of speed, both hand speed and foot speed. For the first few rounds, it made Mayer look plodding and slow. But then, as those powerful shots from Mayer started to take their toll, Jonas slowed and Mayer started to make up ground.
At the halfway point, it looked as if Mikaela Mayer would run away with it. And then, just like in all great tales, there was a twist. Natasha Jonas started to find her footing, answering some of those booming shots with solid counter punches of her own. And slowly, bit by bit, she clawed her way back into the fight.
I don’t want it to sound as if it were an obvious thing. It wasn’t. Rounds seven through ten could have gone either way, and in fact were so close that I went one each plus a draw. But it could certainly be argued that either fighter won any of those rounds. These two warrior ladies stood toe to toe and traded heavy shots, both landing big, both doing good work, both stopping the others’ attack. It really was a pick-‘em stretch.
One judge saw it 96-94, another 93-97, and the third 96-95, but all three of those probably should have been within a round of each other.
“I thought I did enough to win,” said Mayer in the post fight interview. “I would’ve given her the first round or two, but after that I think I outpunched her and landed the cleaner shots.”
Jonas said that she would place Mayer second only to Katie Taylor amongst all of her opponents, adding that she feels that Mayer’s time will come again.
In perhaps a parting blow, Mikaela Mayer added, “I didn’t have a rematch clause on my side, but I hope we can. I feel like I deserve it.”
So do I, Mikaela. So do I.
GOODBYE!!!
That is going to do it for our live coverage of Natasha Jonas vs Mikaela Mayer. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did!
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We will return with live boxing coverage next Saturday for Jaime Munguia vs John Ryder.
Until then, good night and God bless!
Women's boxing is currently in the middle of an anguished discussion over whether or not they should move to three minute rounds. But why on earth is a world title fight only ten rounds? Even at two minute rounds, they should be twelve rounds.
Rematch anyone?
If ever a fight deserved a rematch, this is the one! Mikaela Mayer has more than earned it!
AND STILL: Natasha Jonas wins by SD
Let's see what the ringside judges say about it. They score it:
96-94 Jonas
97-93 Mayer
96-95 Jonas
as Natasha Jonas wins by split decision. That will not sit well with many fans, and I am not sure how I feel about it myself. It was soooooo close!
I can't really split it. I have it 97-97 apiece, but so many of those rounds were so close that they could easily go either way. I would not complain about any score that went to either fighter. That was a magnificent fight!
Mayer comes out and lands a nice left hook, giving herself a bit of a gee up, and she charges forward. Jonas stops the attack with a great left hand, but Mayer comes back and throws combo after combo. Jonas answers everything back and they end up in a clench.
As the round ends they trade heavy shots and perhaps Mayer lands the heaviest.
Mayer comes out marching forward, pushing relentlessly ahead. Jonas is having to throw punches off the back foot and is landing nice counters, catching Mayer on the way in. As the round closes, the war heads inside and both women land some quality punches to the body.
Mayer comes out on the front foot and catches a counter left for her troubles, but as the fight wears on, Mayer looks to be growing in confidence. She has taken everything that Jonas can throw and is just eating it up. They go to trading again and they both land heavy shots! It is impossible to split them here.
Mayer comes forward and Jonas lands a great counter left.
Mayer is on the front foot here, really dictating the pace of the fight right now. Jonas tries to make a stand and trade punches with Mayer but the American's the one with the heavier hands. Mayer catches Jonas with a beautiful uppercut followed by a right hook.
Jonas comes back with a huge left uppercut and the round ends with the two going toe to toe!
At the halfway point, I have it at two rounds apiece, with round one a draw.
Mayer comes out in round six on the front foot, but Jonas lands a great left hand to the body to slow her attack. Mayer answers back with a huge right hand and an eye catching combo to the body.
Jonas comes forward and catches a right hand again.
The round opens with both ladies trading heavy shots, both landing and both finding a bit of a boost from it.
Mayer lands a nice right hand to the head as Jonas comes back with a heavy uppercut to the body. Jonas follows it up with another just like it. As the round closes, Mayer pushes Jonas onto the ropes and lands a heavy right hand.
Mayer starts the round with a beautiful right hand that catches Jonas on the nose. As they trade shots, Mayer lands another one-two, and Jonas is backed onto the ropes, in trouble here as she eats a beautiful left hook.
Mayer is now letting her hands go, landing big, hurtful shots almost at will here.
Jonas is backed onto the ropes and the round ends in a clench.
Jonas comes out with quick hands, landing shots both upstairs and down as Mayer plods forward. Jonas is staying out of trouble, boxing off the back foot, but Mayer is slowly trying to walk Jonas down.
As the round comes to a close, Mayer catches Jonas with a nice right hand, but Jonas is able to turn her and get out of trouble.
Jonas lands a nice three punch combo as the round starts, slapping Mayer around a little bit. Mayer comes back forward, trying to bring her heavy right hand into play, but Jonas is moving well, boxing neatly, catching Mayer with a counter left hook nicely.
Jonas comes out working from the southpaw side, the first one that Mayer has faced as a professional. Mayer of course working orthodox. This is the first foray into welterweight for Mayer.
Mayer pokes out a nice right hand that catches Jonas nicely. Jonas is outside, leaving Mayer the center of the ring and throws some nice one-twos of her own.
Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer
Now it is time for the main event! England's Natasha Jonas takes on the USA's Mikaela Mayer for the IBF World Welterweight title. Both women are highly regarded as two of the best in the game. This clash is an absolute banger!
AND THE NEW: Zak Chelli wins by UD
The judges at ringside score it:
113-116
112-116
114-115
All in favor of Zak Chelli who is the new British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight Champion.
I score that 116-114 to Chelli, but we need to see how the ringside judges saw it.
The final round gets underway and I have Chelli ahead by a round. Cullen needs a huge round here to have a chance.
Chelli comes out banging and Cullen is on the back foot straight away. They clench and Chelli lands a right hand on the way out.
Cullen lands a nice pair of hooks to the body but Chelli comes back with a left hook of his own.
At the minute mark, Chelli comes forward and pokes a nice jab into the snout of Cullen. There is a lot of scrappy, inside work going on in the final seconds and the bell goes and both throw their arms in the air.
Both fighters come out swinging and they trade shots, both loading up, both missing the big ones, but landing a few nice shots within all of that.
The round continues much in that same vein, with Cullen taking a big right hand as the clapper goes. The final ten seconds see the two men circle each other warily.
The round starts with both fighters tied up in the center of the ring. As they break, Chelli tries to come forward and Cullen catches him with a counter left hook that stops him cold.
Chelli tries to have another go at it and Cullen eats a decent right hand from Chelli. Cullen's jab is looking ponderous, a bit slow and just being lobbed out there.
Chelli lands a big overhand right as the round ends.
They trade shots, both jabs and body shots, and try to work their way inside, but so far it is more of the same. Chelli defending well and Cullen loading up on his shots, and missing most of them.
Chelli lands a very nice left hook to Cullen's chin, an eye catching shot.
The round starts with both men tying each other up in the middle of the ring, with both trying to charge forward and clashing as they do.
They work over to the ropes and Cullen is loading up on each shot and Chelli's defense is outstanding.
Chelli lands a sweet left hand as Cullen charges in. They clench again and Cullen makes good work of the inside opportunity. As the seconds tick away, Chelli gets back on the front foot and lands a short left.
Chelli is doing good work here and lands a huge right hand as the round gets going. Cullen comes back with an eye-catching left that snaps Chelli's head back.
At the minute mark, Cullen is landing great shots on the counter when Chelli tries to come forward, dipping low again.
Cullen tries to get on the front foot as the round starts, marching forward and pushing Chelli back to the ropes. Chelli works out of trouble with a nice right hand to the body that stops the advance and then follows it up with a one-two that lands cleanly.
Chelli starts to let his hands fly a little bit, as he lands a four-punch combo, but Cullen is still coming forward. As the round ends, Chelli lands a nice jab to the face, snapping Cullen's head back.
At the midway point, I have it with Chelli in a slight lead, winning rounds two, five, and six and round one as a draw.
They trade jabs and Chelli lands a double uppercut to the body as they clench. Cullen pokes a jab out and Chelli manages to avoid it and follow it up with a nice left hook. Cullen gets caught now with a good one-two.
Chelli charges forward and lands a beautiful left uppercut and overhand right. Great round for Chelli.
They come out and both try to find an in with their big right hands. Chelli throws a wild overhand right and Cullen times it perfectly, landing a left hook, right hand, left hook to the body. Chelli is dipping so low when he comes in that Cullen can keep his counters low and he will almost certainly land them.
As they come together, both men throw hooks inside, landing them cleanly. Cullen looks to have a small cut over the left eye.
Chelli catches Cullen clean with a double jab to start the round. Cullen tries to respond with a jab of his own but Chelli catches him with a counter left.
Cullen lands a nice uppercut as the two fighters come together at the halfway point. As they clench, Chelli tries to work his way out and gets caught with a great left hook in close.
As the round ends, they trade body shots and Cullen's lands perhaps cleaner.
As the round gets going, Cullen comes forward and Chelli ties him up. The referee gives them the opportunity to work their way out. That is refreshing to see. Too often, refs are so quick to break fighters apart, completely undermining the inside game plan. Body punching on the inside is an art and it should be respected.
Cullen comes forward and Chelli catches him with a great left hook. It is a short lived success however as Cullen gets back on the front foot and lands a couple of clean shots to Chelli on the ropes.
This rematch fight sees both of these fighters eager to remove any doubts over their pedigree. Both come out working from the orthodox stance, cagey and probing, but then looking to find an inroad toward closing the distance.
Chelli comes in and snaps a double jab but Cullen catches him with a tidy right hand on the way in. Cullen now comes in with a probing jab and it is Chelli's turn to catch him with a sweet left hook. No damage done, but Cullen knows that he can be gotten to.
They trade toe to toe as the round ends. This is going to be a tear up!
Jack Cullen vs. Zak Chelli
And now we are down to our last fight before the main event, as Jack Cullen defends his British & Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles against Zak Chelli.
Karriss Artingstall wins by UD
The referee is the sole judge and he scores it:
77-75
In favor of Karriss Artingstall.
As we come into the final round, I have it 67-65 to Artingstall. It is a pretty tight contest here.
Furtado manages to charge forward and back Artingstall onto the ropes, landing some good shots to the body. Artingstall is absorbing it, not wanting to do too much or extend herself. Perhaps she feels that the fight is in the bag.
As the bell sounds, Furtado is on the front foot and even with that round, the best that Furtado can hope for, in my opinion, is a 76-75 loss.
Let's see what the ringside judges say.
Artingstall comes out boxing a little more cleverly here, coming forward but also showing good defense as she is able to back out when Furtado comes forward.
Furtado is having trouble landing in this round, with Artingstall staying out of range for much of it.
Artingstall is trying to stay outside, wrapping up Furtado as she comes in every time to force the ref to split them. That is a good gameplan for her. Furtado is aggressive and trying to close the gap, with both women landing good shots.
A nice right hook by Artingstall catches Furtado cleanly and slows her attack somewhat.
Artingstall comes out on the front foot this round and lands a couple of good left hands, but Furtado comes back and hammers a huge right hand to Artingstall that rocks the Brit backward.
They both shift to working inside, which suits Furtado better. More great shots landing by the Brazilian but she should work the body a little bit more. WIth that high guard that Artingstall has, Furtado could find success down low.
Furtado comes out on the front foot again, charging forward and throwing her hands freely. Artingstall is walking around to her right, finding openings and landing jabs when she can.
Furtado stays on the attack and while she looks a little less composed than Artingstall, she is putting in more work, landing more shots. As the round ends, there is blood coming from Furtado's nose.
As the round is started, the ref sends both fighters to the neutral corners so that he can warn Artingstall about the late hit. We get underway and Furtado is on the front foot, aggressive and throwing combos both high and low.
Furtado is letting her hands go and Artingstall backs away before coming back with a sharp left hand. Furtado's aggression is turned against her as the round ends, and Artingstall lands a couple of great counter rights.
Both women come out banging in round two, with Artingstall wanting to capitalize on the end of round one and Furtado wanting to establish herself, showing that she is not at all hurt by what happened.
Artingstall is the taller of the two and has the longer reach. On the bell, she lands another left hand, drawing a complaint from Furtado about it to the ref. He looks to have a word with Artingstall as the round ends.
Furtado comes out working from the orthodox stance as Artingstall works southpaw. They are both cagey as the round gets underway, probing out jabs and trying to feel out their opponent.
Furtado flurries a nice combo out that is mostly parried away but has the effect of stopping the forward motion of Artingstall. Right on the bell Artingstall lands a huge one-two that puts Furtado down! The ref gives a count and it seems that Furtado thinks that the round is over. She goes back to her corner and sits on the stool as the count continues! The ref lets her stand up and speaks to her, apparently happy that she simply didn't understand that he was counting a knockdown. What an end to the round!
Karriss Artingstall vs. Lila dos Santos Furtado
Now we have a eight-round featherweight bout between England's Karriss Artingstall and Brazil's Lila dos Santos Furtado.
The stoppage
Clarke didn't need to win this way. He was in complete control. Terrible stoppage.
Steve Clarke wins by TKO
Clarke comes out on the prowl, stalking his man, working low and pushing forward, trying to get at the body through Mamedov's high guard.
At the halfway point, ther is an accidental clash of heads. Nothing serious but enough to draw a warning.
Clarke comes forward with a great right hand and Mamedov turns his back. Clarke lands three punches from behind and the referee waves it off! That is premature! It draws a complaint from Mamedov and rightly so. It should have been a warning for turning his back to Mamedov but never a stoppage.
Mamedov is trying to tie Clarke up a bit as the second round wears on, trying to slow down the high work rate that Clarke has set.
Clarke lands some great jabs and as the round ends, Mamedov looks completely out of sorts. He is exhausted.
Clarke comes out on the front foot, trying to impress in a hometown debut. Mamedov is a willing opponent, but Clarke has a great amateur pedigree and is moving circles around him.
At the halfway point, Mamedov has some blood on his nose, showing some of the wear that those jabs are having on him.
Steve Clarke vs Vasif Mamedov
And now we move on to a professional debut fight as Liverpool native and amateur standout, Steve Clarke makes his pro debut against British journeyman Vasif Mamedov.
Aaron McKenna wins by TKO
McKenna comes out and pushes Ellison back onto the ropes. McKenna keeps control of himself, perhaps wary of anything coming back. Ellison is wounded but not yet out and even a wounded man can get you.
Ellison is pawing that jab out there, but McKenna is having his way with his man. Ellison has been shaking his right hand and only throwing the left, so there may be something wrong there.
McKenna gets Ellison onto the ropes and starts to unload. Ellison's corner throws in the towel and that is it!
McKenna comes out with three jabs that all land, snapping Ellison's head back. This is good work by McKenna.
Ellison contines to work the body, going back to that uppercut, which so far has not found it's mark to any effect. Backing out, Ellison throws a big right hand that catches McKenna flush on the chin. That will remind McKenna that Ellison is still in the fight.
McKenna stays composed, throwing tight, clean shots. Jabs and one-twos. McKenna is working nicely here and Ellison is completely out of gas. He survives the round, but he has the look of a man who is done.
They come out trading jabs in the opening seconds, before they move on to the bigger punches, trading hooks. Ellison is marked up by the left eye.
Ellison looks hurt here.
McKenna landed a great left hook to the body and it looked to take something out of Ellison. He has the air of a man just holding on for the bell.
Ellison now takes the center of the ring and lets McKenna move around the outside. Ellison is the more tired of the two, having thrown lots of shots, although largely ineffective.
McKenna is jabbing well, catching Ellison cleanly for the most part, looking like he has marked his man and is perhaps ready to make him pay for his early mistakes.
They trade big hooks, both missing, but neither by very much. Ellison is putting everything into these punches and although McKenna is boxing more cleverly than he is, when they land, they pack power.
McKenna comes out to stake his claim on the center of the ring as both men pick up where they left off. Ellison is still throwing more shots, but he looks off-balance, reaching with the hook, overstretching the right hand. You have to feel that this is unsustainable and if he isn't careful, McKenna will catch him on one of these wild shots and counter it to full effect.
McKenna comes out working from the orthodox stance, as does Ellison who comes out swinging first. McKenna takes the center of the ring and Ellison is probing around the edges.
McKenna throws a nice right hand and finds Ellison off balance. He can't capitalize on it though and the Brit recovers.
Both men trade jabs and as McKenna ties him up, Ellison lands a couple of nice body blows.
Aaron McKenna vs. Mickey Ellison
We now move on to the first of the undercard bouts as Aaron McKenna takes on Mickey Ellison in a middleweight bout that is scheduled for ten rounds.
The UK loves Mikaela Mayer
They love her in Great Britain, just not as much as one of their own.
PRELIMINARY CARD: Mikie Tallon defeats Adam Yahaya by UD
Young Mikie Tallon won every round against Adam Yahaya, moving to 4-0 as a professional.
PRELIMINARY CARD: Mark Jeffers defeats Germaine Brown by UD
Mark Jeffers retains the English Super Middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Germaine Brown
PRELIMINARY CARD: Jack Massey defeats Steve Eloundou Ntere by KO
That was a huge right hand!
All eyes will undoubtedly be on the main event that sees the Brit taking on the American, but there is an exciting undercard awaiting fans as well. You won't want to miss this one!
Want to see it all for yourself? Diario AS' own Paul Rudder tells you how right here!
There are six fights scheduled for the undercard of Natasha Jonas’ bout with Mikaela Mayer at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday. Lets’ get into it!
Our own Paul Rudder takes us through the card here!
The Full Card
Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer [IBF World Welterweight title]
Jack Cullen vs. Zak Chelli [British & Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles]
Mark Jeffers vs. Germaine Brown [English Super Middleweight title] (10 rounds)
Karriss Artingstall vs. Lila dos Santos Furtado [6 round, Women’s Featherweight]
Aaron McKenna vs. Mickey Ellison [10 rounds, Middleweight]
Jack Massey vs. Steve Eloundou Ntere [6 rounds, cruiserweight]
Mikie Tallon vs. Adam Yahaya [4 rounds, Flyweight]
The main card is set to get underway at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT.
Tale of the tape
Natasha Jonas
Age: 39
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5ft 8in
Reach: 68.1”
Record: 14-2-1
Mikaela Mayer
Age: 33
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 9in
Reach: 66.5”
Record: 19-1-0
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to Diario AS USA’s live coverage of Natasha Jonas’ IBF Welterweight World title defense against Mikaela Mayer from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.
This is one of the tastiest fights in women’s boxing, with IBF World Welterweight champion Natasha Jonas defending her title against Mikaela Mayer.
First, a little about the challenger. Mayer represented the USA at the Rio Olympics at featherweight and has an outstanding professional record of 19-1, with her only loss coming to Alycia Baumgardner in a controversial split decision.
She has fought and won at lightweight, becoming the WBC interim lightweight champion at the class. Mayer is ranked as the world's second best active female super featherweight by BoxRec and third by The Ring Magazine, while she is ranked as the tenth best active female, pound for pound as well.
Across the ring from her will stand the champion, Liverpool’s Natasha Jonas. A two-weight world champion, Jonas has held both the WBC and WBO light-middleweight titles since 2022.
Making history as the first British woman to ever compete in the Olympic games, Jonas eventually lost out to one of the finest women fighters ever in Ireland’s Katie Taylor.
As a professional, Jonas is 14-2-1, with losses to Viviane Obenauf and Katie Taylor, while getting a split draw with Terri Harper.
Jonas took the vacant IBF World Welterweight belt in a match with Kandi Wyatt last summer and this is now her first defense of that title.
Liverpool’s Tony Bellew calls Jonas the finest fighter that the city has ever produced, and she will need all of that skill tonight as she faces an American opponent who really knows how to bang.