A Boxing Memory: Natasha Jonas Beats Marie-Eve Dicaire in Manchester
It was a year that transformed the boxing career of Natasha Jonas. 2022 was when Jonas finally won a world title. By the end of it, she had won three.
Where it all began in February, it continued nine months later at the AO Arena in Manchester. Marie-Eve Dicaire brought size, physicality and the IBF super-welterweight title to Manchester. But ‘Miss GB’ was in no mood to be slayed, and was simply far too good for an incredibly brave and determined Dicaire.
Jonas, who was defending her WBO and WBC 154-pound unified world titles, started fast, rocking Dicaire with thudding heavy shots in the opening round that set the tone for the entire fight. The Liverpool fighter was sharper, and the quickness of her hands often found an open target. But Dicaire never stopped coming forward and attempting to use that physicality to wear Jonas down the stretch. And in rounds five and six, there were fleeting hopes her tactics might just bring some reward.
The opening four rounds were all Jonas, but in the next two rounds, Jonas appeared to be showing some signs of fatigue. I gave Dicaire a share of the 5th and thought she edged the 6th. Jonas admitted she had to hit her opponent so hard just to keep her off her. The efforts of doing that were seemingly starting to take effect. From ringside, I did wonder if the sheer size of the Canadian would be too much for Jonas. But if Dicaire had any hopes of clawing back the early deficit, or even force a stoppage victory, Jonas very quickly stopped those thoughts in their tracks.
Jonas came roaring back in the 7th, and any hopes of victory for Dicaire had all but gone right there and then. Jonas finished the better of the two, and there were signs she may even force the stoppage in the final few rounds as she landed repeated clean shots. But Dicaire soaked up punches that would have stopped a lesser opponent. In truth, the classy Canadian deserved to hear the final bell. The scorecards reflected the dominance of Jonas. 100-90, 98-92 were about right; 97-93 seemed a little too close.
Natasha Jonas had to gamble in many ways during 2022. A fighter who had always seemed to be on the outside looking in. Jonas had to roll the dice and forge her own path in a sport that hadn’t always been kind to her.
Jonas moved through the weight divisions to fight Chris Namus for the vacant WBO super-welterweight title earlier in the year. It looked foolish, maybe even desperate, in that search for that elusive world title that she couldn’t get at super-featherweight or at lightweight. Namus was blasted out in two sensational rounds, and seven months later, in a win that couldn’t be questioned, a resounding points victory in Liverpool over the previously unbeaten Patricia Berghult added the WBC bauble to her resume. Jonas had proved her point. Comprehensively.
But the unifying wasn’t over, and on a night of nostalgia in Manchester, Jonas added the IBF title and the Ring Magazine belt to her ever-expanding collection with that hard-earned victory over Dicaire.
It was some year for Natasha Jonas. The Namus fight could have been the end of her career if it hadn’t gone her way. A career on the line at the beginning of 2022; by the end of it, the Liverpool fighter had won three world titles and cemented her legacy. The British Boxing Board of Control rewarded her with Fighter of the Year honours for her efforts in 2022. The first-ever female to win that honour.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer
