Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer: The Rematch That Got Away?

Natasha Jonas vs. Mikaela Mayer: The Rematch That Got Away?

A fight of the year contender. A fight that had more than a touch of controversy. Ten incredible rounds for the IBF welterweight championship of the world. Scorecards that were hotly disputed. The winner celebrated in part euphoria and some relief. The loser firmly believed that she was again the victim of daylight robbery on UK soil. From ringside, I couldn’t split them. Both fighters had a justifiable claim to say that they had won. It really was that kind of fight. Surely, they would meet again to settle all that controversy.

A rematch that seemed a natural. Inevitable even. An easy sell. Unfinished business. A story that very much had another chapter to write. A second fight that could have even led to a third fight. But sadly, Natasha Jonas and Mikaela Mayer have been left frustrated that boxing has denied them an opportunity to finish their rivalry.

Neither fighter is to blame. For different reasons, both wanted to run it back. There were times when it looked locked in. Mayer had even started her latest fight camp, feeling her first-ever rematch was now a given. But it all fell away as quickly as it came. It looked to have been resurrected with a second potential date identified in July. When a second possible date was lost, a third was identified for the following month. But it was a story of third time unlucky. Jonas and Mayer will now have to move on without each other. At least for now.

Jonas and Mayer were set to fight each other again on the 15th June. Everything was agreed. Both fighters told me they thought it was a done deal. A big five-fight PPV card headlined by Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde. But when Buatsi and Yarde didn’t get over the line, and all the potential PPV revenue was lost with it, the Jonas and Mayer rematch was pulled from that card.

But the two fighters wouldn’t give in. Zoom calls followed. Further talks, led by the two fighters, looked for a breakthrough. They explored the possibility of doing the fight in America. It could have even landed on the Joe Joyce Derek Chisora card on July 27th. The rumoured Boxxer show on August 31st was another possibility. Every single time they thought they had hope, it all ended in frustration and much more.

It would seem now that all avenues have now been exhausted. Three firm dates have come without reward. Both fighters now appear to have accepted that the rematch won’t happen. Albeit with much reluctance. Mayer, currently about to start Paris Olympics commentary duties for NBC, will potentially return around October with Chantelle Cameron a more than likely opponent. Jonas will return a little sooner in either a routine defence of her IBF bauble or even a possible unification fight at welterweight.

Good fights are hard to come by. Natasha Jonas and Mikaela Mayer had an extremely good fight back in January. Why the rematch has seemingly been lost will always be one of the sports’ great mysteries. Very much a missed opportunity. Another chance to grow their side of the sport. Both fighters wanted it. It seemed such an easy fight to make. But yet again, boxing has found a way to go in another direction when it seemed everyone was on the same page. The rematch that got away.

But there was a time when it seemed set in stone, but when it appears the rematch is dead in the water, could there be one last little twist to the story? We live in hope.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer