IBF female welterweight champion Natasha Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs) won a hometown ten round split decision over former unified junior lightweight world champion Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) on Saturday night at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Good action bout with good exchanges throughout. Mayer pressed the action and closed strong. After ten see-saw rounds, Jonas, 39, prevailed by scores of 96-94 (Frank Lombardi, USA), 96-95 (Michael Alexander, UK) on two cards, while Mayer was up 97-93 (Diana Drews Milani, Germany) on the third card.
Super middleweight Zak Chelli (15-2-1, 7 KOs) outworked and dethroned British and Commonwealth titleholder “Little Lever’s Meat Cleaver” Jack Cullen (22-5-1, 10 KOs) over twelve uneventful rounds in a rematch of their 2020 draw. Cullen never got untracked as Chelli pulled away to a 116-113, 116-112, 115-114 verdict.
2020 Olympic boxing medalist Karriss Artingstall (6-0, 1 KO) outpointed Lila Dos Santos Furtado (9-2, 1 KO) over eight rounds in a women’s featherweight match. Artingstall dropped Furtado at the end of round one en route to a 77-75 win.
Unbeaten super middleweight Aaron McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs) won by sixth round referee’s stoppage against late sub Micky Ellison (14-7, 5 KOs). Time was 2:21.
Unbeaten super middleweight Mark Jeffers (17-0, 4 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Germaine Brown (13-3, 4 KOs) in a clash for the English title. Scores were 98-93, 99-92, 98-93.
Cruiserweight Jack Massey (21-2, 12 KOs) stopped Steve Eloundou Ntere (8-2, 3 KOs) in the first round.
Local amateur hero Stephen Clarke won his pro debut via third round TKO when Vasif Mamedov (3-47-5, 0 KOs) turned his back and walked away.
It never ever fails-whenever there is a close bout the Brit gets the decision in the UK-Mayer won this and finished leaving no doubt -Shame!-Natasha’s face told the story!
Shame on me. I didn’t score the fight and I am a very competent judge. Mikela fought her heart out and deserve at least a draw. Bring Jonas to MSG for the rematch.
I had it 9 rounds to 1 in favor of Mayer. Honestly, I could’ve given her all 10 rounds. Jonas was competitive, but you couldn’t give me a single round that she won convincingly. She was getting backed up, beaten up, and was left holding on throughout the fight.
Horrific decision.
And what about the case in which it’s not a close bout? Because this wasn’t even close. Mayer all the way.
Even when it’s not a close bout….. the brits get the decision!
This was just blatant corruption!
“little home cookin”? Highway robbery!
Robbed…..fucking robbed red fucking handed. Boxing is dumb
Mayer clearly won that fight. She landed so many more clean punches. In a neutral venue that would have been 98-92 Mayer.
Mayer won the fight…. extremely entertaining…Mayer pulled away…can see though how the rounds could have been judged either way…too many of those rounds…and when you have that many rounds like that…this is a possiblity… Believe though that Mayer won by a slight margin….Jonas was technically superior but Mayer just willed her way….very good fight…
At worst for Mayer it was 98-92. 100-90 would’ve been reasonable.
That’s the exact score I had it, 8-2 Mayer. She just beat up Jonas, and had her hanging on for dear life at the end. I was pulling for Jonas, but I call it like I see it and Mayer is the true champion.
Outrageous … minimum its a DRAW (I JUDGED FOR IBF and WBC over 20 years) … Mayer Manager should be fired for incompetence … Jonas gets rematch in her contract … Mayer should not have taken the fight without matching Jonas rematch clause in her contract
Chuck…a rematch clause can’t get you fans or respect.. irrespective of whether there is a rematch or not Mayer earned my attention…therefore the goal was met…no matter the terms rematch just give the fighter a chance…the rest is up to the fighter…Mayer earned a following… mission accomplished
Your goal met not Mayer’s unfortunately. She has a career to worry about.
Ajay..And how did this fight hurt her career?….This was seen internationally….some fighters never get that exposure/chance…fans want to see a good fight…It was close… believe that she got the edge…and so did thousands that watched the fight…So you know how many fighter like Mayer that exist today that will never get the chance…never get the exposure….that maybe on her level of better? Understand that sometimes you have to take a fight with disadvantages if you believe in your talent… Trust me .Mayer did not lose here though she did not get the right call..more opportunities shall follow cause Mayer was professional and others saw it..like George Foreman when he fought Holifield….Did that lost hurt Foreman and that lost was legitimate.? Can’t cry …dwell on it…Mayer job well done…I will pay good money to see you fight again…in fact her opponent was good also…pay good money to see both even if not fighting each other….
Mayer already had the attention of the boxing world with only 1 loss on her record … keep in mind she moved up 2 weight classes … rematch in close fight like this one makes a huge difference in ratings and money earned/loss … I strongly believe in my original post
Mayer was a challenger with no leverage. How was she going to demand a rematch clause? If it was a unification fight you may have had point. Natasha held ALL the cards so she could set the terms.
Mayer is already considered elite in boxing circles … I would not have taken the fight without Mayer having a matching rematch clause in her contract … I believe Jonas camp would have taken it
Robbery.
97-93 Mayer!! No way Jonas won that fight.
Have been doing boxing and Kung Fu for more than 30 years Boxing culture particularly Judges have turned fans away and boxing is losing more credibility world wide Either corrupt or incompetent I would have given Jonas 2 rounds UFC will be laughing and benefiting
I had jonas taking the early lead with lots of eye-catching combos and good movement making mayer miss a lot. mayer closed strong down the stretch. close fight. coulda gone either way, but jonas deserved the win.
You would have to be kidding? Surely. Mayer won it, it was closer than the 97-93, but she still earned it. Most pundits would agree. Just look at the comments on this forum. I think you’re in the minority here mate.
Even if he’s in the minority he’s still right. You literally just said you saw it as a 6-4 fight. There were some close rounds a 1 or 2 round swing would be a draw or Jonas win on YOUR card. That’s a close fight and close fights CAN go either way.
the usual bad decision over there . mayer had that one 7-3 .
I’ve been watching boxing(on tv mostly) since about 1952, probably seen less than 10 rds of womens bouts. I don’t give one shit about seeing 2 women slugging it out in the ring. Never have and never will. Being old and from the South, I’ve always thought women were created for things other than fighting. But I am smart enough to realize everybody don’t think like I do and that’s their right, of course.
Respect your opinion…Bo..if women fight on the battlefield to protect our rights here….I respect a women’s right to fight in the ring…
Mikaela won that t fight. She had a game plan. She had Natasha on her heals. She pushed the fight. Home cooking is what I say. What else is a fighter supposed to do against a Champion to win. She out punched her too. Home cooking. Oh I said that.
I had the fight 97-93 for Mayer. Mikaela really deserves a rematch. Sadly, I don’t think she will get one.
Had it for her 96-94-several close rounds. Need to go to three minute rounds which would make scoring the rounds easier.
I was looking forward to this fight. It also showed its potential. Very entertaining.
Mikaela Mayer was easily outmaneuvered in the first round. After the first round I couldn’t believe that it would be the only round I would give to Natasha Jonas without discussion in the fight.
Natasha Jonas fell back in the second round, became more passive, tried to counter Mikaela Mayer. Maybe that was her game-plan but it didn’t work. The only thing that happened was that Mikaela Mayer could easily win the round.
After six rounds, one could argue that the fight was even. Round seven went big to Mikaela Mayer. The last three rounds were tough with both giving and taking. Mikaela Mayer pushed with everything she had, opened up, got hit more often, but gave back all the more.
Mikaela Mayer got one scorecard with 97- 93. After watching the fight once I think these numbers are more or less correct. 94 – 96 in Natasha Jonas favour means only four round to Mikaela Mayer. That´s a big no.
A well executed match by Mikaela Mayer, lots of will and fighting spirit.
Hats off to both fighters. Unfortunately I can’t add a big congratulations to Mikaela Mayer.
NJ absolutely LOST this fight.MM must just accept this RESULT,better luck next time .The STRESS of living ,knowing you’ve been ROBBED.An astrix should be put on both their records to show ‘controversial result ‘.
I’m not say who won or loss this fight. What I will say is that people don’t know what a robbery is anymore. A one round type of fight that’s going back and forth can easily go to either fighter or be declared a draw. Both fighters did some good work and depending on what you liked the most could swing the many of the round either way. Many of the middle rounds seemed like NJ got the better of the first min and MM got the better of the 2nd min. I was thoroughly entertained and wouldn’t mind seeing this again.
We watched a different fight. Jonas landed some clean shots, but Mayer was landing far harder. She was routinely backing Jonas up and had her holding on a lot. Mayer was far more aggressive and effective and pressing forward. Mayer won darn near every exchange and was visibly inflicting damage. There were probably about 4 rounds that were close, but among the rest, it was Mayer by a big margin.
Kind of makes you think the way Fury was robbed in the US against Wilder as well.as other many other Brits and Europeans who have been robbed over across the pond.
Bad decisions happen everywhere… that’s a certainty.
An absolute fix the American won all he way
Who is this judge Frank Lombardi from the US and how does he have this job? Not sure what fight he was watching.
Frank Lombardi has had some outrageously bad scorecards – giving clear rounds to the wrong fighter. I don’t know how he keeps getting big fights (or any fights for that matter).
Good woman’s battle however their fights need to either be 3 minute rounds or (12) 2 minute rounds and for that reason I had this fight being split 95/95 a draw.
Notorious Ice…good take… actually something to think about…
If we’re trying to differentiate women’s boxing from men’s, why not keep using 2 minute rounds and go to 15 round title fights? Very little chance of a draw in that scenario… especially given women’s boxing has fewer KOs. 15 two-minute rounds is actually quite a bit less actual ring time than 12 3s, but it would be something different and unique, while still improving the sport.