Natasha Jonas vs Mikaela Mayer Results: Mayer Gets Screwed

Natasha Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs) defended her IBF welterweight against Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) Saturday night at M&S Bank Arena in Jonas’ hometown of Liverpool, England.

I stress “hometown,” because two judges scored the fight 96-94 and 96-95 for Jonas, while a third judge had it 97-93 for Mayer. I watched on ESPN, and thought Mayer won 7-3 or so. This was a “hometown special,” more than a “robber.”  Mayer deserves better, because she did better.

See stats:

Stats for Jan 20, 2024 Jonas-Mayer fight, compiled by Compubox

Jonas said after, “I had a good start. I landed harder and cleaner shots. I think toward the end she outworked me a little. I’ll give her a couple of the middle rounds. But I came on strong at the end.

“I know she is going to be absolutely devastated with the result because I’ve been there. It feels like the world is over. She is on my top two people that I’ve fought. She is very skilled. Her time will come again. She beat a lot of the champions. Please use that as motivation to become a two-weight world champion.”

Mayer indicated right after that she wants a rematch. That sounds reasonable—she deserves that, after two judges did her kinda dirty. Photo: Lawrence Lustig, Boxxer

Mayer said, showing massive class, “I thought I did enough to win. I would have given her the first round or two. But after that, I feel like I outpunched her. I landed the cleaner shots. At the end of the day, I think that this fight is worth seeing again. Like she said, it was one of the toughest fights she’s had. I didn’t have a rematch clause on my side, but I’m hoping we can get this fight done again.

“It’s definitely disappointing. But what am I going to do? I just hope that Natasha Jonas will be the standup champ that she is and give me another shot at the belt. I feel like I deserve it. I think they want to see it. I only believe that rematches should happen if they’re warranted.”

Amen, I say. Run that bad boy back, minus two judges who need contact lenses re-fitting.