Ringside Report: Jonas Dominates Berghult To Unify The Super-Welterweight Division
Natasha Jonas waited an eternity to win a world title. Now she has two.
An unlikely move up the divisions has paid dividends for a fighter who has been previously frustrated and denied by boxing politics.
Many doubted her decision to turn her back on a Matchroom contract and a guaranteed rematch with Katie Taylor when she signed with Boxxer and Sky late last year. Jonas said judge me in 12 months time. Not for the first time, Jonas has proved her doubters wrong. She gambled. She has won.
Any lingering doubts about her ability to fight at super-welterweight were firmly extinguished tonight in Liverpool. The previously unbeaten Patricia Berghult was brave but ultimately outgunned by a determined and far too good Jonas.
The Liverpool fighter now holds the WBO and WBC titles, and will no doubt look to further unify her division. Hannah Rankin and Terri Harper meet later this month. Jonas will be a more than interested spectator.
After a tight opening round that could have gone either way, Jonas dominated the majority of the contest from that point on. At times it was physical. And hard. Jonas, more than matched the bigger and younger Berghult in the physicality department. The inside work, an underrated strength of ‘Miss GB,’ did the groundwork and thudding shots to the head at times threatened to topple the super-tough Berghult.
The Swedish fighter soaked up everything Jonas threw at her, and bravely kept going hoping for a miracle that never looked like coming. Only in the round of the fight, the 8th did Berghult seriously threaten, but after absorbing several hard shots, Jonas came roaring back to hurt the WBC champion. An incredible two minutes of action.
Jonas never rested on her success and looked intent on forcing the stoppage. Hopes flickered briefly in the 8th and 9th rounds that the stoppage may indeed come. A lesser fighter would have folded long before the final bell. Berghult deserves credit for her part in a really good hard fight. On a night where others quit, Berghult didn’t.
The judges scored it 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91. It was in truth, an easy fight to score.
Jonas was excellent on her big homecoming night in a fight that was a lot tougher than the odds suggested. Jonas couldn’t start slow, and let Berghult find any kind of rhythm. Jonas didn’t and victory looked remote for Berghult from even the early stages.
The comeback of Jonas has been nothing short of remarkable. And an inspiration to anyone who might think their time has passed. Jonas could have retired many times, but her perseverance and resilience now have the rewards her talents deserve.
Written off so many times in her career, Jonas at 38, still has plenty of fight left in her. The two belts, which will be hard to take off her shoulders while she quite rightly enjoys her moment, may have company before her career eventually draws to a close. Jonas will think, why stop at two.
Jonas improves her record to 12-2-1, Berghult drops to 15-1.
Photo Credit: Boxxer
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