Natasha Jonas defeats Marie-Eve Dicaire to unify the IBF, WBC and WBO super-welterweight world titles

Natasha Jonas defeated Marie-Eve Dicaire at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday to unify the IBF, WBC and WBO super-welterweight world titles.

Jonas is one of the most remarkable stories in British boxing this year. At the start of 2022 she was in danger of drifting out of contention. In the months leading up to this fight she unified both the WBC and WBO super-welterweight world titles, three divisions above her natural weight.

In Dicaire Jonas was taking on a rival champion, the holder of the IBF title, who had only lost once before and that had been against the now undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields.

Greeted with huge cheers at the Manchester Arena, Liverpool’s Jonas began quickly. Fighting a fellow southpaw for the first time in her professional career, Jonas targeted the body at first but marked out the target with two cracking left crosses.

Jonas might have been the smaller of the two but her punches were undeniably heavy.

Dicaire however still managed to grind forward and fling her own backhand through before the end of the round.

Jonas had found her power punches early but when she moved from side to side, she could use her footwork and jab to offset the IBF titlist.