Lauren Price and Natasha Jonas Set for March Unification Bout

Lauren Price and Natasha Jonas are scheduled to compete in a highly anticipated world title unification bout on 7 March 2025, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The victor of this contest will be just one championship belt away from achieving the status of undisputed world welterweight champion. Both British competitors successfully defended their respective welterweight world titles during their recent victories in Liverpool last weekend. Price, a 30-year-old from Wales, successfully defended her WBA title against Bexcy Mateus. She knocked down the Colombian opponent three times, leading to the referee halting the fight in the third round. Meanwhile, IBF champion Jonas, aged 40, secured the WBC title by decisively defeating Ivana Habazin across 10 rounds, thereby becoming a two-weight unified champion. The individual who emerges victorious from the Price-Jonas encounter is then expected to challenge WBO champion Mikaela Mayer in a bout aimed at crowning the undisputed world welterweight champion. Approximately 4,000 spectators attended Saturday’s fight card at the Exhibition Centre. However, the upcoming clash between two of British boxing’s most prominent female athletes is anticipated to fill the Royal Albert Hall, which has a capacity for over 5,000 fight enthusiasts. Price secured her WBA title by stopping Mateus. Price has previously indicated that a boxing match against Jonas is long overdue, expressing a preference to have faced her current rival last weekend instead of Mateus. Price, an Olympic gold medalist from the delayed 2021 Tokyo Games before turning professional, commented: “If it was down to me I would have loved to have been boxing for another belt, whether it was against Tasha [Jonas] or Ivana [Habazin]. But that didn’t happen this time round, so now I’ve got through that fight on Saturday the big fight is next year.” Jonas’s professional record stands at 16 wins and two losses from 19 career bouts, with nine of her victories coming by knockout. In contrast, Price, a former Wales football international, has maintained an undefeated record with eight wins from eight contests since turning professional, securing two of those wins via knockout. Price further stated: “As soon as I won the world titles in Cardiff I wanted more belts. I want to be in the biggest fights and it makes sense, we’re [Price and Jonas] both with Sky, we’re both with Boxxer, it’s an easy fight to make.” She continued: “My dream was to go to the Olympics, I won the Olympic gold medal, and now I’ve got more dreams, I’ve got more goals. I want to go on and create greatness, create a legacy. I want to bring big nights back to Cardiff. I want to win more titles.” Price added: “She [Jonas] has two belts, that’s the main aim. I have nothing against Tash, I respect her, but at the end of the day I’m a world champion, she’s a world champion and if you’re a world champion then you should fight anyone.” Concluding her remarks, Price asserted: “I think it’s a great fight, it’s a fight that I believe that I win, I believe I’m in my prime, I believe I’m too quick and too skilful, I’m just better overall, and I believe I come out on top.” Jonas’s dominant performance against Habazin led to her becoming a two-weight world champion. Following their respective victories in Liverpool, Jonas promptly intensified her rivalry with Price during a shared post-fight interview. Jonas cautioned her prospective opponent, stating, “be careful what you wish for, be careful what you ask for,” to which Price retorted, “too young, too quick, too good.” Despite her age, Jonas has secured her fifth world title in only six fights spanning three years, indicating she is currently performing at the peak of her career. Price, who also possesses the IBO and Ring Magazine world welterweight titles, acknowledged that the ‘trash-talk’ prevalent in professional boxing is a novel element for her to navigate, but affirmed her readiness to respond if she perceives herself as being disparaged. Price commented: “I don’t really look too much into that, I’m too laid back for it. As soon as she said ‘you’ve got to be careful what you wish for’, then I had to speak up and say I believe I’m in my prime, I’m at my best, I’m hungry, I’m driven, I’m a professional athlete.” She continued: “I understand she’s had a wonderful career, she’s coming towards the back end of her career. She still wants to be in big fights and fair play to her, but I’m here. [Promotor] Ben Shalom’s going on about ‘Lauren being the future’, well I hold three belts now. It’s not about me being the future, I believe I beat everyone at 147lbs and that’s starting with our big fight next year.” Similar to Price, Jonas also has an Olympic background, having been the first woman to represent Great Britain in boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Jonas expressed her eagerness to demonstrate her capabilities against Price as they are set to headline the event at the Royal Albert Hall. Jonas stated: “It’s an honour to be headlining this incredible all-women’s event at such an iconic venue. It shows how far women’s boxing has come. Throughout my career, I have broken down barriers and achieved what people said I couldn’t – and there is still a lot more to come. Lauren Price has a lot of hype around her but I believe this fight is going to be a step too far for her. I’ve been in big fights, I’ve fought world champions and Olympic medallists, but she’s never faced anyone like me as a pro.”