Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer: All or Nothing

Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer: All or Nothing

Mikaela Mayer was once a teenage rebel without a cause. A troublesome all singing and dancing teenager with far too much energy to burn. By the time she was 13, Mayer discovered drinking and smoking. The party lifestyle was winning over discipline and everything else. A life out of control with no direction. The signs were far from good.

‘Pictures of the band, with Mayer holding a cigarette in her mouth, tells a story of where she was in her life at that point.’ My words from my first interview with Mayer in November 2020.

Mayer was once in an all-female rock band. She was once a model and, at one time, the face of Dr. Pepper. An advert entitled ‘One of a Kind’ ran with Mayer as the centrepiece of the production.

But maybe Mayer was always destined to fight. Expelled from high school as a result of an altercation with her ex-best friend that involved the use of her fists, it was perhaps always written in the stars that boxing would save Mayer from herself.

Mayer under the tutelage of the veteran coach Al Mitchell nearly made the 2012 London Olympics. But four years later, Mayer could call herself an Olympian. But the American came home from Rio without a medal, and thoughts of a lucrative professional contract soon gave way to frustration and the realisation that her country might not quite be ready for her side of the sport. Mayer was within hours of turning to Mixed Martial Arts for solace. Bellator wanted her and offered her a contract, but at an extremely late hour, Bob Arum and Top Rank came calling. Mayer finally had what she craved.

Mikaela Mayer has done incredibly well for herself from all those wayward wasted early years. The professional boxing career was close to flawless. A unified world super-featherweight champion until she lost her unbeaten record and her world titles to her most heated rival Alycia Baumgardner in October 2022. A bitterly disputed points decision that was heavily booed by the London faithful, left Mayer in a state of grief. A long and painful process began. It took time, but Mayer eventually found what she needed. Eventually, she moved on and up.

The desperate struggles to boil her long frame down to 130 are long gone. A short one-fight stay at lightweight was followed by an equally brief stay one division up. Two fights removed from that painful, heartbreaking loss to Baumgardner, and Mayer will get her chance at redemption early next year.

Mayer will enter the lion’s den to challenge Natasha Jonas for her IBF world welterweight title title on January 20th in Liverpool. The loss Mayer suffered to Baumgardner mirrors the night when Jonas was denied a deserved victory over Terri Harper back in 2020. Trust me, Jonas deserved more. A draw was of little consolation to her. Both can feel justifiably aggrieved at those with the mighty pen.

Two fighters who share many a similar tale. Both are former Olympians who came home empty-handed from their respective Olympic Games. Like Mayer, Jonas had a wayward spell after her promising football career was cut short by a serious knee injury she suffered in America. Boxing saved her also.

Both have suffered unexpected defeats. Jonas has recovered from a shock loss to Viviane Obenauf. A perceived routine trip to Cardiff in 2018 that was supposed to be the final dance before renewing acquaintances with Katie Taylor, who had ended her Olympic aspirations in London in that titanic noise-induced quarter-final in 2012. But the drive back home was one of tears and thoughts that her career was over after Obenauf stopped her in four shocking rounds. Incidentally, Obenauf is now serving 16 years for the brutal murder of her husband. Another story for another day.

Jonas did a lot of soul-searching after the Obenauf disaster. She regrouped mentally and physically and, after two near misses, finally won her cherished world title in February 2022 when she moved up multiple weight divisions to blast out Chris Namus in two sensational rounds to claim the vacant WBO super-welterweight title on an emotional night in Manchester. Now Jonas has given Mayer her chance of redemption on the world stage after the American replicated her in moving through the weight classes in search of an open door.

Jonas and Mayer both deserve credit. Jonas for risking virtually everything in facing someone of the calibre of Mayer. And Mayer for travelling to that fighting city that Jonas calls home. But equally, in many ways, they need each other. They both have something the other wants.

The fight early next year will undoubtedly deliver in terms of action inside the ring. Mayer will come back to the UK determined to reclaim what was lost in London just over a year ago. But Jonas will not let go of her IBF bauble easily. Both know a victory will open the door for even bigger things in 2024.

The early Skybet odds favour the Liverpool fighter to hold onto her title. They have Jonas as the favourite at 4-6, while Mayer is the slight betting outsider at 6-5. The draw looks incredibly good value at 12-1. A true 50/50 fight that both could justifiably make a case for winning.

A loss for either would be a devastating setback. A win could bring the likes of Chantelle Cameron to the table if she repeats her win over Katie Taylor next weekend in Dublin. Make no mistake, this is all or nothing for both.