Jonas Remains Reserved on Potential Price Bout at Weigh-in

Live text and radio commentary for the world title defenses of Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price will be available starting at 20:00 GMT on Saturday via the BBC Sport website and app. Welterweight world champions Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price successfully met the weight requirements for their individual title contests scheduled for Saturday in Liverpool. Jonas, aged 40, is set to defend her IBF championship against WBC champion Ivana Habazin; concurrently, WBA title holder Price will compete against Bexcy Mateus. Both athletes successfully reached the championship weight limit of 10st 6lb. Even though both British competitors anticipate challenging encounters, discussions throughout fight week have predominantly focused on a prospective match-up between Price and Jonas in 2025. When questioned about the potential contest during Friday’s weigh-in, Jonas responded, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Price’s reply was somewhat more forthright. She stated, “That’s a great British fight and what I’m calling for.” She continued, “I know we’ve both got a job to do on Saturday night, but when I turned over as Olympic champion I wanted them big fights.” Price added, “I’m world champion now. I want more belts. I want to create a legacy. I want to bring big-time boxing back to Cardiff, create greatness.” Price, 30 years old, maintains an undefeated record across seven professional fights since transitioning from amateur boxing after securing an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021. A video titled ‘I want to be undisputed’ features Lauren Price. Mateus, from Colombia, also holds an unblemished seven-fight record, distinguishing herself with six knockouts in contrast to Price’s single knockout. Jonas (15-2-1) has secured world titles in two distinct weight classes—light-middleweight and welterweight—within the last three years and seeks to achieve unified champion status across two weights against the seasoned competitor Habazin. The Croatian fighter (23-5) has shown irritation whenever Price’s name arose during fight week, stating her intention to alter the narrative before Jonas’ home supporters. Habazin asserted, “I know what I’m capable of.” She added, “If I was listening to what people were saying I would have retired in 2020, but I am here.” Jonas maintains an undefeated record across seven professional bouts held in Liverpool. Price intends to extend her 7-0 record during the initial defense of her welterweight world title. An image shows Lauren Price holding her championship belts, having earned the world champion title by defeating Jessica McCaskill in May. On the undercard, an image depicts light-middleweights Stephen McKenna (L) and Lee Cutler in a moment where tempers flared. Sandi Toksvig is accompanied by Gyles Brandreth, Lulu, Emmanuel Sonubi, and Alan Davies. The text encourages users to “Grab the mic for Queen, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Katy Perry and more…” Ben Fogle and Kate Humble are returning for the celebrations at Longleat Safari Park. Topics covered range from microplastics in the air, soil, and waterways, to the scale of food waste during this period of the year. © 2024 BBC. The BBC disclaims responsibility for material found on external websites. Information regarding its external linking policy is available.