Natasha Jonas Deserves Her Retirement Moment

Natasha Jonas Deserves Her Retirement Moment

Katie Taylor had her moment earlier this month at Croke Park. An emotional farewell. The perfect final dance. 83,000 of her adoring faithful waved Taylor off in style. Taylor said goodbye as an undisputed world champion. In truth, it could not have been scripted any better. Not many get to go out on their own terms. Katie Taylor did exactly that.

No fighter has gone out in such a glorious manner. Fighters are usually subjected to a painful, humbling defeat. In some cases, several. The truth of their own mortality is a hard one to accept. Many don’t. Many can’t.

Natasha Jonas shared a ring with Taylor on three different occasions. Two fights occurred in the amateur ranks, including that incredible, decibel-breaking spectacle at the 2012 London Olympics. Taylor and Jonas fought one last time in 2021 in front of a virtually empty Manchester Arena during those restricted Covid times—a far cry from the deafening roars that surrounded their meeting in London nine years previously.

It was a fight that was only missing a crowd, with the two old rivals battling it out in that deeply eerie setting. When we discuss Taylor’s resume, her fights with Amanda Serrano, Chantelle Cameron, and even Delfine Persoon are remembered fondly. But that Manchester fight with Jonas has been forgotten somewhat. It shouldn’t be. It was a classic back-and-forth battle. Taylor successfully defended her undisputed world lightweight titles, but only just. A single point separated them on two scorecards. A slow start cost Jonas, but she came so close to becoming the first fighter to defeat Taylor in the professional ranks. Taylor ultimately prevailed, but we shouldn’t forget just how good Jonas was that night.

There was the inevitable talk of a rematch, but it never materialised. They went their separate ways, both with much success.

Jonas moved up through the weights. “Miss GB” became a unified world super-welterweight champion. She did the same at welterweight before losing to the former Olympic champion Lauren Price in March of last year at the Royal Albert Hall.

It was expected to be the end for Jonas. At 40, Jonas had nothing left to prove. Retirement was seemingly the only call to make, but it never came. We are still waiting. Jonas told FightPost that the offers kept coming in, but as they all came to nothing, it is only a matter of time before Jonas makes it official that her time has passed. That retirement call is coming—it is a case of when, not if, it comes.

Unlike her great rival, Jonas never had that moment. There was no farewell dance in Liverpool. A chance for her to say goodbye in her home city in front of her Scouse fans. A chance to go out on a win.

It would have been fitting if Jonas had been in the opposite corner at Croke Park, with the two old rivals riding off into the sunset together. However, that fight against Price 18 months ago will inevitably be the last time we ever see Jonas inside a boxing ring.

Jonas is still deserving of her moment, some kind of farewell.

Her career warrants more than a social media post announcing her retirement, a post that will be quickly lost in the algorithms. Jonas deserves something far more meaningful. It should be something on Sky Sports, a platform that hosted most of her professional fights and where she now works in a punditry capacity. Maybe a moment in the ring on a televised card where she can announce her retirement properly, with a crowd saying thanks, appreciative of what Jonas has given to her sport. It could be with her trusted trainer Joe Gallagher by her side. Whatever it might be, Jonas should have some kind of farewell moment; she deserves that at the very least.