Jonas vs Harper: Unfinished Business, That May Stay That Way

Jonas vs Harper: Unfinished Business, That May Stay That Way

The proposed rematch between Natasha Jonas and Terri Harper is a natural and obvious fight to make. Unfinished business, undisputed status at super-welterweight, a highly-lucrative showdown with a real edge and one that will sell out many an arena, maybe even something bigger. It is a legacy fight if ever there was one.

But it is not as straightforward as many would like you to believe. In boxing, is it ever?

Matchroom has made Jonas what has been labelled as a high-end six-figure offer to rematch Harper in 2023. My understanding is that offer is way below what Team Jonas perceives the fight to be worth. In an interview with IFL on Friday, Eddie Hearn said he would make another offer in an effort to get the fight on. It might need to be a considerably improved offer to tempt Jonas.

The fans understandably want to see the rematch, equally so, Harper and Matchroom. It ticks many boxes. There has been widespread interest in the fight, and with good reason. But some of the Social Media talk has elements of trying to force, bully even, Jonas into taking the fight, without knowing the finer print of the Matchroom offer. Or even exactly how much the offer is, or how it compares to what Jonas has been earning with Boxxer in recent fights.

Contract offers are not always what they seem on the surface, the devil is always in the detail. Unless you see those details, you can’t really judge with only half of the information available. Even if Matchroom reach the required monetary figure, that is likely to be only the start of the battle. It might seem an easy fight to make, but in truth, it is anything but.

The Jonas/Matchroom relationship ended far from amicably last year. Not many know the full story of what happened, and if they did, they would understand why Jonas might look elsewhere for her next fight. There might not be enough money in the pot to make her forget. Add in outstanding issues from why the Jonas/Harper rematch didn’t happen a few years ago, and you begin to realise the problems might be irretrievable. A lot was said, and Jonas has never ever forgotten.

When Jonas moved up to super-welterweight earlier this year, it was a move born out of necessity. All the doors in her more natural weight divisions were very firmly shut. But even before she beat Chris Namus for the vacant WBO title in February, Jonas told me she would probably vacate the title and seek opportunities in those lower-weight divisions. But the opportunity to fight Hannah Rankin was there, and while Rankin eventually welcomed Harper to the 154 ranks, Jonas knew with the lightweight, light-welterweight and welterweight divisions still tied up, it left her with little choice but to stay at 154 for the time being. A unification fight with Patricia Berghult was quickly set up when the Rankin fight fell away and her recent win over Marie-Eve Dicaire gave Jonas her third belt at her weight of convenience. But things are very different now, Jonas has options and she is quite rightly exploring them.

When I spoke to Jonas earlier this week, the day before Matchroom made her that initial offer, she gave me the names of the three fighters that would be her perfect 2023. Harper wasn’t one of those names. She has little interest in fighting Harper. Hearn will have to dig very deep to change her mind. Past issues form part of her lack of interest, but equally, she now sees light down below.

Another fight with Katie Taylor still looks remote for Jonas, the likes of Amanda Serrano, Chantelle Cameron and even Alycia Baumgardner are ahead of her in the chase for a date with the Irish superstar. But potential fights with Cameron or Jessica McCaskill at light-welterweight and welterweight respectively, carry far more hope for Jonas. There are many moving parts before any of those fights materialise, and Harper has similar options herself, but the door has been opened slightly for the Liverpool fighter. Jonas will now look to force her way into the party, including making herself the mandatory challenger if needed, or even, picking up any belts that suddenly become vacant. A potential fight with McCaskill or Cameron is less problematic for Jonas than one with Harper, despite the Matchroom links. Ben Shalom will make big money offers to get Jonas what she wants, the coming weeks will be incredibly interesting seeing how those moving parts play out. Literally, anything could happen. And it probably will.

Where once Jonas had nowhere to go, she now has many roads to explore. A fight with Claressa Shields towards the end of next year has been more than talked about, but Jonas will look to squeeze in at least one more fight before any talks seriously begin on that front. The likelihood is that it will be away from the super-welterweight division unless the fight with Harper does get over the line or even one with Cecilia Brækhus, and they are only likely to happen if those doors don’t open up for her in the lighter-weight divisions. But don’t expect Jonas to fight any mandatories in defence of her WBC, IBF and WBO titles. With only a handful of fights left in her career, Jonas only wants the big fights, and ones that make sense to her. Make no mistake, if needed, Jonas will drop the belts. It’s perfectly possible, her business at 154 is already done.

Jonas and Harper have history, and they delivered a truly unforgettable fight in 2020. The only thing it lacked was a crowd. It had more than a hint of controversy, Jonas was perceived as being desperately unlucky only to get a draw. Harper exceedingly fortunate to escape with one. The rematch in truth should have happened not long after. Very much the one that got away. Harper went her own way then, she may well find, Jonas now does the same.

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing