Natasha Jonas is adamant that she deserved the victory in her split decision win over Mikaela Mayer in Liverpool.
America’s Mayer pushed the champion furiously hard throughout their 10-round IBF welterweight world title fight, winning widely on one judge’s card but losing by a narrow margin on the other two.
Mayer declared that the decision should have gone her way on Saturday night, but Jonas dismissed that claim.
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Highlights from a huge IBF welterweight title clash between Jonas and Mayer in Liverpool
“I thought I was comfortably two rounds up at the end,” Jonas told Sky Sports.
“I respect people’s opinion. Everyone’s entitled to one. But the result matters on the day and I got the result.
“All in all, I won. I grinded it out. I made it a little bit uncomfortable for myself in the middle rounds. Again I won, that’s all I can say. I won.”
Their fight was hard, close and entertaining. But Jonas was confident that she had come through.
“I do honestly believe everything that Joe [Gallagher, her trainer] says. So when he tells me a result, there’s been fights in the past where he’s said you’re two down, you need to do something. I respect what he says and if he think it’s close, he’ll always give it to the other person,” the defending champion explained.
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Mayer reacted to her split decision defeat to Jonas and said that ‘the fight is worth seeing again’ as she hopes for a rematch for the IBF welterweight title
“He had me winning by two rounds in the end. He was tallying the rounds up as we went along.
“Sometimes you can box brilliant and lose or draw, whatever it is, and the decision doesn’t go your way and sometimes you can scrape a win and I think I did that.”
While she didn’t guarantee the American a rematch, Jonas did not rule it out.
“Of course that will be an option,” she said. “We’re going to sit down and see what opportunities are available and I’ll choose the best one for me.
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After retaining her IBF welterweight title against Mayer, Jonas felt her opponent brought the best out of her in what was a hugely entertaining main event in Liverpool
“If that’s Mikaela Mayer, we’ll choose Mikaela Mayer. If that’s Lauren Price, we choose her. If that’s Jessica McCaskill, we choose her. If that’s Katie Taylor, we choose her.”
While Saturday’s outcome might be hotly disputed, the fight itself was brilliantly fought and intensely contested. On that basis alone it could merit a rematch.
“It was hard work, exactly what I thought,” Jonas said. “Two class operators and two top-class female fighters who have been well schooled, been in the Olympic cycle, been the hard route, been in through the amateurs and that elite level.
“I thought it was going to be tough. But I won.”