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Natasha Jonas insists she’s excited about her next fight – even if she can’t get a show with Hannah Rankin.
The Liverpool super-welterweight holds the WBO world title and was hoping to meet WBA and IBO champion Rankin in a unification show later this year.
Jonas (11-2-1, 8 KOs) won the belt at the Manchester Arena in February with a stunning knockout, ending a two-round challenge of Chris Namus on the undercard. Kyle Brook defeated Amir Khan.
And the 38-year-old southpaw, now at the helm of Ben Shalom and Boxer, quickly turned her attention to Rankin.
The Scot has been weighing up offers to win ‘Miss GB’ later this year. It was until it became clear that Terry Harper would enter the weight room.
Patricia Berglett (15-0, 3 KOs), the WBC heavyweight champion, is now next on the list for Jonas on September 3rd, exclusively on Sky Sports.
The fight will be Jonas’ first in his home town as a world champion and will take place at the M&S Bank Arena, as part of the support for Lim Smith’s Liverpool return against former IBO champion Hassan Mwakinyo.
Jonas spoke exclusively to Boxing Social about her next outing:
“I got a message last week asking if I wanted the fight.
“The message came in the morning and it was fulfilled that night.
“We didn’t get Rankin and that’s disappointing, but we’re all happy and raring to go. It’s a tough fight, it’s for a prestigious belt and maybe if I fight Hannah and beat him, I’ll get a lot out of winning this one.
Boxer head Shalom presented to Rankin It’s a “life-changing” prospect to get in the ring with former Olympian Jonas, but now it looks like Rankin will meet former WBC and IBO super-featherweight world champion Harper, with socialite Harper’s promoter Eddie Hearn — who looks after Jonas — looking to put him on a September show to confirm.
Jonah added:
“Ben did everything he could to get the Rankin fight and I’m glad he did, even if he couldn’t.
“It’s not like going down. If anything, it’s a step up, so we’re all happy and ready to go.
Berghat is set to meet former undisputed welterweight queen Cecilia Brakhus (36-2, 9 KOs) on Aug. 13 after the woman who has held at least one 147-pound title for more than a decade has announced that she is moving up in weight.
That fight fell through, however, and when she got the chance to add to her silverware on paid code following her amazing amateur stint, Jonas took advantage.
