Lauren Price beat Natasha Jonas by unanimous decision at the Royal Albert Hall, adding the WBC and IBF welterweight titles to her collection.

The fight was an exhibition in speed and agility from Price, as the 30-year-old out boxed Jonas by a significant margin.

This dominance was shown in the judges scorecards, with all three scoring Price’s victory, with scores of 98-93, 100-90 and 98-92 to the Welshwoman.

Jonas, 40, had been on a seven-fight, three-year winning streak since losing to Katie Taylor in May 2021, but did not impose herself on the fight until the sixth or seventh round.

On a all female card at the Royal Albert Hall, Price confirmed her status as the premier contender in the women’s welterweight division.

The Newport-born fighter now holds the WBA, IBO, The Ring, WBC, and IBF welterweight titles.

Masterclass

Price took charge of the early rounds of the fight, continually pushing Jonas backwards with a flurry of jabs and footwork.

Often at the end of these exchanges, Price would fire a quick right hand at Jonas, who was simply too slow to counter. Jonas used all her skill and experience to rally and have the better of some of the latter rounds, but Price’s early dominance had given her a comfortable lead by then.

The large Welsh travelling contingent could been heard throughout the fight, as Price won her ninth fight in nine encounters.

One Belt to go

With this victory, Price now holds all but one of the welterweight title belts, with American boxer Mikaela Mayer currently in possession of the WBO title.

Mayer is set to fight Englishwoman Sandy Ryan in Las Vegas at the end of the month for the WBO title, and Price has made her intentions clear about her next fight.

“I’ve been told I could possibly be boxing in August,” Price said

“I want to come back to Wales, if it’s not the winner of Mayer or Sandy next, I want that by the end of the year.

“I want to be active, I’m motivated and driven and I believe I can go all the way.”

Post Fight Respect

The leadup to the Price-Jonas fight had been relatively cordial between the two boxers, with only a bizarre situation at the weigh-in threatening to heighten the tensions between the two.

After the fight though, Price showed immense respect to Jonas.

“I’ll remember this night for the rest of my life,” Price added.

“Tasha’s a great fighter, but I knew my speed and my feet, that’s what won me the Olympic gold medal and I feel it’s going to get me to the top in the pros.

“It started with [Jessica] McCaskill in May and I just feel like I’m getting better and better.

“I’ll speak to [promoter] Ben [Shalom] and I want to go back to Wales, there’s nothing quite like boxing at home, but this was very special and I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

---

Sportin Wales’s coverage of the men’s and U20’s Six Nations is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this spring for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

Our podcast is back for the new season and our co-founder Alex Cuthbert is in charge! You can find all the episodes here or the video versions on our YouTube channel.

You can also keep track of our pieces and videos on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X or Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.