Natasha Jonas issues warning to Lauren Price ahead of title unification clash
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Natasha Jonas has warned Lauren Price to be โcarefulโ what she wishes for, ahead of their welterweight unification fight on 7 March.
Liverpoolโs Jonas, who holds the WBC and IBF titles, will clash with Walesโs Price, the unbeaten IBO champion and Olympic gold medalist, at the Royal Albert Hall. The fight will headline an all-female card at the historic London venue.
โThe pressureโs not on me,โ said Jonas, 40. โLaurenโs the champion whoโs never lost a round, the Olympic gold medalist, and thereโs a lot of pressure on her to come and do what she says she can do. So yeah, [being] the underdog suits me. Iโve been here before, itโs nothing new.
โI love being the first,โ added the two-weight champion, of her chance to hand Price a first professional loss. โThe first is something that nobody can take away.
โI decide when itโs time [to pass the torch]. Just be careful what you wish for, have a great camp, and Iโll see you on 7 March.โ
Price, 30, said: โTake age out of it, I just think…ย Not I think, I know: Iโm better in all areas. I back myself, my accolades speak for themselves.
โI know Iโm still fresh in the pro game, but each time, Iโve stepped up. I will admit Tasha is my toughest [opponent] yet, but I believe she brings another level of my game out, and I rise again.
โIโve always had pressure on me, from the amateur days: going to the Olympics, expected to win gold, but going to do that and walking out to an Olympic final… it doesnโt get much bigger than that.
โWith pressure comes diamonds, and I will be coming out on 7 March as the winner, and taking them belts back to Wales. I do believe the right time is now. I do believe she is a tougher test [than my previous opponents], but I still think I come through with flying colours.โ
On the undercard, Caroline Dubois will put her WBC lightweight title on the line against an as-yet-unnamed opponent. It is a quick turnaround for the unbeaten 24-year-old, after her defence against Jessica Camara ended as a technical draw this month, when the latter suffered a cut from a clash of heads.
Also on 7 March, Karriss Artingstall boxes Raven Chapman, and Cindy Ngamba will make her professional debut, having claimed bronze for the Olympic Refugee Team at the Paris Games last summer. Ngambaโs results in the French capital made the Cameroonian, who trains with Team GB, the first Olympic medalist for the Refugee Team.
