Natasha Jonas: “I finally have control over what I do. I can retire tomorrow and be satisfied.”

Natasha Jonas: “I finally have control over what I do. I can retire tomorrow and be satisfied.”

It took time. It took heartbreak. It took an abundance of resilience. But finally, Natasha Jonas has reached the very pinnacle of her sport.

There will be emotion, and plenty of it, on Saturday night. A headline hometown gig that will kick-start a year that will almost certainly be her final one in boxing.

Jonas will defend her IBF welterweight title in a major fight against the former unified world super-featherweight champion Mikaela Mayer at the M&S Bank Arena. A fight that is another indication of the rise and acceptance of the women’s side of the sport. Make no mistake, a fight of this magnitude, on this stage, would have been unthinkable even just a few years ago. Jonas and Mayer are vital components of that surge in popularity of their side of the sport.

‘Miss GB’ has seen it all in her time in the sport. Jonas has been down and very nearly out on several occasions throughout her long and eventful career. A shocking defeat to Viviane Obenauf in 2018 was seemingly the final nail in her boxing career. In the embryonic months that followed that stoppage defeat in Wales, even Jonas thought there would be coming back from a loss that left her on the brink of retirement and a career left unfulfilled

But the Liverpool fighter recovered. The process was slow but rewarding. A series of low-key confidence-building comeback wins kept Jonas alive, if not quite kicking. But when Terri Harper needed an opponent in 2020, Jonas answered the call.

Jonas was the perceived sacrificial lamb to the unified world super-featherweight champion. But Harper was left questioning herself after escaping with a hotly disputed draw. Jonas was denied a rightful victory, but her career had found new life.

A period on the sidelines followed, while the behind the scenes politics played out. Nearly a year after the Harper near miss, Jonas came within a round of beating Katie Taylor. A close call. A heroic effort. But the feeling was that Jonas had missed out on her last chance of winning a world title.

But Jonas kept going. She moved across the great boxing divide. She moved up through the weights. Won three world titles at super-welterweight. A move back down to welterweight earned her the IBF bauble that she will defend against Mayer on Saturday night.

“It definitely has got a big fight feel to it. But the way I approach fights is all the same. I still do the camp the same, and that helps me mentally not to lose myself.” Jonas told FightPost just a few days away from a fight that will define her legacy.

Mayer brings plenty to that old iconic Liverpool arena. A city steeped in boxing tradition and history. Jonas is certainly in the conversation to be the best fighter ever to come out of that fighting city. She has a resume that will stand the test of time. But at 39, when most fighters are long gone or thinking about retirement. Jonas is on the hunt for more. A little bit more shine to her resume. Mayer will be the best win on her record if the Liverpool fighter can turn back the challenge of the immensely talented American. Jonas knows nothing will come easy on Saturday night.

“I need that fear factor,” Jonas says. “Sometimes it’s hard to get up for certain fights. You get complacent. If I switch off against Kandi Wyatt, it’s not the same result as if I switch off against Mikaela Mayer.” The emotions of the hometown gig aren’t leaving Jonas blinded by the formidable challenge in front of her. She will need to be at her best. Anything less, Jonas will likely wake up on Sunday morning an ex-champion. But that applies to Mayer also. She will know that only her best will beat Jonas. Make no mistake, it really is that kind of fight.

There is no fake beef between two fighters who epitomise everything that the sport should be. In truth, the fight doesn’t need any added tinsel to it.

“The fight sells itself, and people recognise that,” Jonas told me. “Everyone knows what Mayer brings to the table, and they know what I bring to the table. It’s a genuine 50/50 fight, and everyone says it will be a good fight.” A good fight is almost a given. Who wins it is anything but.

Jonas is riding a career high. A far cry from the dark days of old. The move to Boxxer has given her something she didn’t feel she had elsewhere. Jonas now feels loved. And wanted. Ben Shalom has delivered everything Jonas would have wanted when she signed with Boxxer in 2021. A fact that hasn’t been forgotten by Jonas.

“Ben is invested in me as a fighter and as a person, and I didn’t have that before. I had nothing when I signed with Ben Shalom, and now I have all this.”

Jonas is happy in her life. A career that has rode out more than one storm. A fighter who is now content with what she has achieved in her quite magnificent career. “I finally have control over what I do. I can retire tomorrow and be satisfied. I finally feel I am in the driving seat in where I want to be in my career.” Jonas says, a fighter who finally has some element of control over what comes next. Trust me, if you know the Natasha Jonas story, you will understand how important that is to her.

But satisfied and content shouldn’t be treated as a fighter who already has one foot out of the door. A win over Mayer, Jonas will then be able to call a few more shots. ‘Miss GB’ still retains all of her old ambition. There is a plan. The plan is more big fights to close out her career on one incredible high. You sense the fire still burns bright inside her. As that old saying goes, ‘She hasn’t come this far, to only come this far.’ 

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer