Boxing Live: Natasha Jonas has challenged Claressa Shields to ‘put her money where her mouth is’ following the American star’s knockout threat to the British world champion.
Shields was ringside when Jonas became a two-weight world champion by defeating Kandi Wyatt in Manchester earlier this month to win the IBF welterweight title.
Shields remarked on Sky Sports that Jonas would be ‘knocked out’ if they fought, but the Liverpudlian promptly disregarded this threat.
“Who did she knock out? Let’s be real,” Jonas said to Sky Sports News.
“Are we on different levels?” Perhaps in terms of weight, but we’re getting there. She promises she’ll lose weight to 147 pounds, so let’s see whether she follows through.”
“She said that previously, but Dmitriy Salita [Shields’ promoter] also said, ‘We want to do it at a catchweight of 156lbs’ because she couldn’t make 154lbs, and now she’s saying she’ll do 147lbs.
“That is not what her team is saying. She says a lot of contradictory things.”
While Shields is a possible opponent, Jonas has indicated an interest in a fight with another Brit, undisputed super-lightweight world champion Chantelle Cameron, who defeated Katie Taylor in May.
She emphasised that their relationship would not interfere with a prospective battle because both combatants realise the importance of the matchup.
“That’s something we’ve discussed individually between us two. There is no hostility; it would be a major struggle for both of us, and it is what it is.
“This is a major battle. She’s probably one of our country’s top fighters. She has defeated an undefeated undisputed champion [Katie Taylor] as well as an undisputed champion in Jessica McCaskill.
“I don’t think she gets enough credit because she’s such a fighter.”
Jonas confesses that the weight of expectation was heavier on her shoulders once she became a dominating champion at super-welterweight, having unified two world championships at 154 pounds.
But, at 39, Jonas feels she showed flashes of fresh ring talents during her merciless triumph.
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