Natasha Jonas believes she has already secured redemption before heading into this weekend’s world title clash with Katie Taylor. This Saturday’s fight, an event being screened in multiple DAZN regions, was long on the radar for Jonas following her lengthy rivalry with the Irish darling dating back to their amateur days, which culminated at the 2012 London Olympics where Taylor won on points.
Jonas exited boxing immediately after her Summer Games setback with family becoming her main priority as she became a mother. Returning to the sport as a professional in 2017, Jonas’ focus was on renewing her feud with her vested nemesis but those plans were thwarted when the Liverpool southpaw was sensationally stopped in four rounds by Viviane Obenauf in 2018.
“I know people probably thought I was finished after that,” revealed Jonas exclusively to DAZN when taking a brief break from her gruelling training camp with Joe Gallagher. “I’d been away from boxing for a long time and it felt like I was starting all over again. That loss was hard to take at the time like any loss is but it showed what I had to do to get back.”
Picking up wins on small hall shows and undercards to restore her damaged pride, Jonas had come too far to give up on her world title dream. The Covid-19 pandemic which hit the boxing industry hard impacted massively on Jonas but her prayers of competing for a world title were about to be answered as she was handed a major opportunity to headline at Matchroom’s Fight Camp against Terri Harper when sport got back underway.
“The lockdown was so hard for me. I’m from a very close family. I’ve got a big family and not being able to see my mum or other members of my family was difficult. Boxing was on hold and I couldn’t get in the gym as much as I wanted. It was just me and my daughter locked down every day and I had no idea what was going to happen next. Even getting a job became an idea to me because I just didn’t know what was going to happen with boxing.”
Jonas’ controversial draw with Harper, a fight that stole the show at Fight Camp, was a result that provided the 36-year-old with all the evidence she required to prove that she was a world class fighter. Dismissed by boxing insiders and bookmakers beforehand, Jonas fought to the meticulous instructions orchestrated by Gallager and had seemingly done enough in the eyes of all but the judges. Although she left without Harper’s crown, Jonas emerged with immense credit and a platform towards a bigger fight with Taylor.
“It was a fight where I was pretty much fighting for my career,” declared Jonas when reflecting on her contest with Harper. “If I lost that fight then I’d probably have nowhere to go. I knew that going in and I think I’ve shown everyone, people who doubted me, just how good I can be. You can’t just judge me on the Obenauf fight because I’ve done so much in boxing so I’m happy that I showed that I belong at the highest level.”
With the looming threat of Taylor now occupying her steely mindset, Jonas is well aware of what will await her in Manchester this Saturday night. As well as sharing many rounds with Taylor, Jonas has monitored the rise of the Olympic champion in the paid ranks. Although largely impressed with Taylor's accomplishments, Jonas has taken confidence from a couple of fights that she has viewed.
“The [Delfine] Persoon fights finally showed people that Katie is human. It was like when [Vasyl] Lomachenko lost and when [Anthony] Joshua lost. Persoon proved that you can go in there and make things very hard for Katie. I’ve had the best camp of my entire life and my numbers are so much better than when I fought Harper. Joe has a plan and I honestly believe that I’m going to shock the world and become world champion.”