Natasha Jonas: “Mikaela Mayer brings the recognition, the profile, and the skills. That is the fight I want.”

Natasha Jonas: “Mikaela Mayer brings the recognition, the profile, and the skills. That is the fight I want.”

“I’ve told them what I want, so we will see what they come up with.” Natasha Jonas.

You don’t have to delve too deep into the often murky waters of boxing politics to know what the powers that be in boxing would ideally want. The words spoken would tell you that the relevant moneymen would want Natasha Jonas to fight Lauren Price and Mikaela Mayer to fight Caroline Dubois. The only problem with those words and those plans is that Jonas and Mayer only want to fight each other.

Jonas is 39, and nearing the end of her quite remarkable boxing journey, although that wry smile I notice over Zoom when I say she has only potentially two fights left, may tell a different story. But with two fights left or not, Jonas only wants the fights that interest her.

“I’m not fighting anyone just for the sake of fighting. I’m not fighting Lauren (Price). I don’t get anything from that. I just want the big fights now. I want the big fights that I want. Mikaela is that. Mikaela Mayer brings the recognition, the profile, and the skills. That is the fight I want,” Jonas tells FightPost.

The former unified world super-featherweight champion has named Jonas as her preferred next opponent, and there is little doubt that the current IBF welterweight champion wants Mayer to be next for her. With Mayer moving up through the weights seeking an open door to another world title fight and Jonas seeking the big fights and the money to match, it does seem inevitable. despite the wishes of others, they will indeed fight later this year.

Jonas is almost certainly at the stage of her career where only the big fights really motivate her. After a busy and incredibly successful 2022 that brought everything she ever wanted from the sport, 2023 has been mainly one of frustration. Fights have come and gone without reward, but a decision to drop down in the weights from super-welterweight to welterweight brings Jonas more than a little closer to those big fights that she wants to close her career out with. The return to action and the win over the tough Canadian Kandi Wyatt in July that earned her the IBF bauble gives Jonas bargaining leverage and will entice the likes of Mayer to the negotiating table. Jonas has something that Mayer and others now want. But despite not having a world title to her name, Mayer still has that marquee value in her name and past achievements.

“Mikaela brings a lot to the table. I think it could be on the undercard of a big PPV or even headline in Liverpool,” Jonas says clearly, thinking of an emotional homecoming that would undoubtedly generate huge interest in her home city. A return visit to her fighting city surely has to happen before her career closes out.

Despite names like the Olympic Champion Lauren Price being thrown around, it seems only Mayer is of current interest to the two-weight world champion. Jonas knows it will be no easy fight for her. Outside of Katie Taylor, Mayer will present the toughest challenge of her professional career, but the Liverpool fighter is more than up for the challenge and thinks it is a winnable fight for her.

“It is a fight, I believe I will win, but it won’t be easy. It will be a hard fight and a fight I can get myself up for. I will have to be in the right mindset, and I will have to have a good camp. It’s not one that I could just breeze through. It will be a tough hard training camp and they are the camps that I enjoy.”

Mayer has made the UK her adopted fighting home in recent months. The win over Silvia Bortot in Manchester earlier this month was her third appearance on the bounce on UK soil, and a fourth visit before the year ends now looks likely. Jonas was ringside commentating for Sky Sports for the dominant points victory Mayer recorded over Bortot, and while being impressed with her possible future opponent, Jonas still sees a route to victory for herself.

“I thought she boxed well,” Jonas says. “I thought the weight suited her better. But I also saw a lot of things that I could capitalise on as well. Mikaela can adapt to different fights, but she can also be dragged into certain things. Bortot didn’t land anything of note, but she was landing, and there were times when Mikaela was standing a bit too long in there, which she loves to do.”

Who Jonas fights next will likely be confirmed in the coming days. Talks are ongoing, but with both Jonas and Mayer having little interest in anything else, it does seem like one of those fights that only money can scupper. But with the American powerhouse Top Rank backing Mayer, you would be surprised if a deal couldn’t be reached to satisfy all parties. But boxing does have a unique way of doing the wrong thing for those who reside in it. Both fighters want the fight. There is a demand for the fight. Just for once, why can’t that be enough?

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer