Natasha Jonas wants to box the winner of the Chantelle Cameron vs Katie Taylor rematch to become three-weight champ
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Natasha Jonas won a world title in a second weight class this year, but she hopes to become a three-division champion in 2024.
Jonas has a high-profile IBF welterweight title bout with Mikaela Mayer on January 20, live on Sky Sports.
Afterwards she would welcome a showdown with the winner of the Chantelle Cameron vs Katie Taylor undisputed super-lightweight championship fight, and the chance to win the belts at 140lbs.
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Mikaela Mayer admits that she’s the underdog in her January welterweight clash against Natasha Jonas, with the bout set to take place in Liverpool
“100 per cent,” Jonas told Sky Sports. “Every fight’s appealing. But you’ve got to win the first fight first, so I’m not looking too far ahead. Because in my direct future is Mikaela Mayer.”
But she added: “I’m not scared of going back down. I’ve already made it quite clear who I’d like to fight and it’s up to Ben [Shalom, her promoter] to go out and try and get those fights made.”
Jonas has already had two tremendously exciting bouts with Taylor, in the Olympic Games and in the pros, both of which were won by Ireland’s Taylor.
In 2022 Jonas moved up several divisions to unify world titles at super-welterweight before moving down to 147lbs to beat Kandi Wyatt and win the IBF belt this year.
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Two-weight world champion Natasha Jonas has become the first Black female boxing manager
“I actually believe that Tasha Jonas is a better fighter now than the one that lost very narrowly to Katie Taylor. She’s developed even further and I think she’d be more than ready for that challenge if it came again,” her promoter Shalom said.
“Chantelle Cameron, I know that’s a fight that both fighters will probably want so looking forward to seeing the result this Saturday, then an equally big night on January 20 and who knows what sort of night that could set up.”
He continued: “The past couple of years have been a whirlwind, from not having won a world title to winning multiple world titles to becoming a two-weight world champion. All that’s left for her now is the big names, the legacy fights. That’s what we believe Mikaela Mayer is. We think this is two huge icons in the sport.
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Mikaela Mayer says she would welcome a fight with Natasha Jonas next after outpointing Silvia Bortot in Manchester
“If she comes through that, we’re looking at the winner of Cameron-Taylor. We think that’s the obvious fight.
“It’s one that we want, but a huge night to come through on January 20 first.”
Taking on America’s Mayer is a key moment for Jonas. “She brings the whole US market,” the Liverpudlian said. “That was the deciding factor between Mayer and some others that were also calling me out at the time. For me, I just want the biggest fights possible.
“There were lots of fights I wanted [in 2023] that we couldn’t get for whatsoever reason. Now the pathway’s cleared a little better and we’re starting off the year with a great fight.”
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Lauren Price called out Natasha Jonas after her victory over Lolita Muzeya but the two-weight world champion was not convinced
Rising challengers are targeting the Jonas. “I think it comes with the territory once you’ve got something that someone wants. I was the person calling someone out not too long ago and now you’ve got it, you become the target,” she said.
“That’s where I wanted to be. That’s where I want to stay.”
At 39 years old Jonas isn’t expected to have too many more fights. But she intends to make them all count.
“There’s no secret, I’m not at the start of my career, I am towards the end,” Jonas said. “But there’s still some big fights and some big nights left in me.”
She promises a “big, big 2024”. But first: “We’re starting off the year with a bang.”
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