Natasha Jonas: Undisputed In Due Time

In a career with history written all over it, Natasha Jonas personifies many things. Most say that she’s a trailblazer for women’s Boxing. Others might acknowledge her as the first female Boxer to represent Great Britain on the Olympics stage. However, at the heart of it all, while being the underdog throughout her movie-like story, Jonas is, most importantly, a proud mother. And this Saturday, she takes one more step toward becoming undisputed when she faces the WBC super welterweight champion Patricia Berghult.

When it comes to Boxing, most athletes at the sport’s pinnacle have mastered the sweet science from an early age. However, every now and then, an anomaly like Natasha Jonas emerges with fire in her eyes, defying the stereotypical beliefs with the most powerful tool of all, heart.

The Liverpudlian was your typical twenty-year-old, still trying to figure out life. But little did she know, she was about to transcend an entire sport.

Jonas started Boxing at the age of twenty, which is considered relatively late to master such a gruelling sport. However, Jonas was what some might say “a natural,” and in no time, she proved it.

Less than five years into her journey, Natasha added five ABA Championships to her young resume. In the eyes of most people in the Boxing world, she was viewed as an underdog from her very first rodeo. But little did they know, the underdog was only warming up.

Two years after displaying her dominance in the ABA Championships, the Liverpudlian lit up an entire stadium with her smile, not just any stadium, but the biggest one of all, The 2012 London Olympics.

Standing across from her that night was an Irish phenom named Katie Taylor. Both Ladies put it all on the line in an absolute barnburner, but when the smoke cleared, Taylor was declared the winner.

The atmosphere was exceptional that night, and the energy was quite different. It was like an aura of greatness that had everyone in awe. It could have been for many reasons, but it would all make sense almost a decade later.

It is unfathomable for the average individual to acknowledge how gruelling the fight game is with the accumulation of countless injuries, accompanied by the mental stress and fatigue that eventually breaks the hearts of the bravest people in this world.

It was no different for Jonas. In April 2015, the English star decided to hang up the gloves, setting her sights on other things in life. However, her calling to become a World champion couldn’t leave her mind.

“In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”

Two years following her retirement, Natasha couldn’t be at peace with calling it a day before turning professional, which gets her a step closer to achieving what most combat athletes strive for, to be crowned a World Champion.

The slick southpaw made her professional debut at last in 2017 to fulfil her calling of becoming a world champion. She went on an absolute tear, winning her first six professional fights, entering every one of them with the mindset of making a statement.

Nothing builds character like adversity, and Jonas was no stranger to it. In her seventh professional fight, she suffered her first professional setback in the hands of hard-hitting Brazilian Viviane Obenaur.

If there was ever a time to call it quits, if there was ever a time to lose hope of becoming a World Champion, the time was then. However, the perseverance in Natasha’s fighting spirit is something she always took pride in possessing. It wasn’t easy, but she picked herself up, dusted herself off, and carried on the path to glory.

Following her first professional setback, Jonas got back on track by digging deep and securing three wins in a row. The win streak took her to a familiar place, history. Natasha Jonas was finally fighting for a world title in the first female World Championship showdown with two Brits locking horns on Great Britain’s soil.

The stage was set: August 7th, 2020. Jonas went toe to toe with the twenty-three, heavy favourite, Terri Harper.

Coming into the fight, a narrative was built again that Natasha’s chances of winning were slim. However, Jonas made the walk into the ring with a smile on her face, like she knew something. Quiet confidence was oozing from Jonas. Seconds later, the world found out why…

In one of the best fights of that year, most people worldwide, including myself, saw the fight being comfortably won by Jonas. However, a robbery occurred, with the judges scoring the fight as a draw.

I remember my emotions after the decision was announced. I was reminded why I shifted my interest from Boxing to Mixed Martial Arts.
Bad judging and politics have been ruining this beautiful sport and, more significantly, shattering the dreams of the ambitious dream chasers in a split second.

Once again, Jonas was down but far from out. She knew she had won that fight but wasn’t quite sure what the future had in store. In the words of one of my biggest inspirations, Michael Bisping used to always say, “Destiny can never miss.”

It all made sense last February when Jonas knocked out Chris Namos to become the WBO super welterweight champion.

The journey to undisputed continues as she clashes against Patricia Berghult in a unification bout for the WBC and WBO titles this Saturday live on Sky Sports Boxing.