Natasha Jonas Confirms That She Did Turn Down An Offer To Fight Claressa Shields

Natasha Jonas Confirms That She Did Turn Down An Offer To Fight Claressa Shields

In response to comments from Dmitry Salita in an interview for Slothboxx, where he says Natasha Jonas has turned down an offer to fight Claressa Shields, Jonas has confirmed to FightPost that this is correct.

Jonas says an offer was made for her to defend her unified super-welterweight titles against Shields but it didn’t match the valuation Jonas has for the fight, especially in light of the offer Matchroom made for Jonas to fight Terri Harper in a big domestic undisputed fight at 154. Jonas believes a fight with Shields is commercially bigger than one with Harper, and one that carries a far greater risk, and she feels the offer should have reflected those two things.

The proposed fight had potential dates in April and May, with the Shields camp preferring a date in May to allow additional time for the undisputed middleweight champion to get back down to 154.

FightPost understands that Jonas wanted a fight prior to the one with Shields and wanted to fight in March in her hometown of Liverpool when Boxxer announced a show there on March 25th, or on the same date when that Liverpool show was subsequently rerouted to Manchester. The representatives of Shields would have preferred Jonas to go straight into a fight with the American. That was a potential stumbling block to the Shields/Jonas fight getting over the line.

When Shields showed an interest in fighting Jonas last October after her win over Savannah Marshall, it was Jonas who approached Ben Shalom telling the Boxxer promoter that she wanted the fight also. FightPost is of the understanding that a Shields Jonas fight is still a possibility, albeit now a remote one, with the Liverpool fighter still more than open to the fight if the right offer is made to her. Jonas told FightPost:

“Dmitry has championed for and with Claressa for better pay and has boasted about 7-figure paydays. Yes, an offer was made and it was rejected. I’m the champion! If he would like to improve that offer, the fight happens. There’s only one thing stopping the fight from being made and that’s not in my hands.”

And in reference to anyone thinking Jonas is running from Terri Harper, Jonas added:

“If anyone thinks I am running from Terri, they are absolutely insane.”

Jonas is currently waiting for a confirmed fight date, but at the time of writing her next fight date is looking likely to be in May, and Jonas hopes the opponent in the opposite corner is Claressa Shields.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer