Natasha Jonas (proper) Photograph by Mark Robinson.
September shall be a historic month for ladies’s boxing, even with the suspension of the Shields-Marshall Mayer-Baumgardner doubleheader. And issues received to an incredible begin with some fascinating fights through the previous weekend.
In probably the most notable one, Natasha Jonas turned a unified junior middleweight champion with a win over Sweden’s unbeaten titlist Patricia Berghult, and now holds half of the belts accessible on the market. Regardless that she weighed lower than 150 kilos for each of her bouts at this weight, Jonas has been stellar in her job, and she or he was virtually unanimously promoted to No. 2 from her earlier place at No. 4 by the panel, with Berghult being displaced to No. 3.
“Natasha Jonas could have had a little bit of a sluggish begin however she was on hearth from concerning the third spherical on. (She) was match, sturdy, and on level with a really balanced efficiency,” stated historian Malissa Smith, whereas columnist Mark Jones argued that “Jonas has carried her energy from 130 and appears comfy at 154. With the additions of Terri Harper, Mary Spencer, and Jonas, the tremendous welterweight is all of the sudden fascinating.”
The transfer additionally places Jonas in place to dispute the Ring junior middleweight title at present within the arms of Claressa Shields, quickly to be left vacant as a result of Shields’ inactivity on the weight.
A number of divisions beneath, Erika Cruz-Hernandez proved that her first win over Jelena Mrdjenovich was no accident, and soundly defeated the Canadian former champ in a one-sided win in Cruz-Hernandez’s native Mexico.
The win failed to maneuver Cruz-Hernandez above featherweight juggernaut Amanda Serrano, nevertheless it did trigger Mrdjenovich to lose one place, swapping locations with Elina Tissen in a transfer that will show solely momentary as soon as Serrano takes on No. 3 Sarah Mahfoud in early November and certainly one of them finally ends up exiting the Prime 5 to develop into the Ring’s inaugural featherweight champ.
“The battle between Cruz-Hernandez and Jelena was the reaffirmation of the generational change,” stated author Yesica Palmetta. “Jelena didn’t do something improper however Cruz already knew learn how to cope with her.” Lupi Gutierrez-Beagle expanded by saying that “Hernandez wasn’t a fluke and as soon as once more it’s a transparent passing of the baton, or title belt on this case,” and Smith added that “the ever highly effective and harmful Mrdenovich had her most deadly weapon, her proper hand, neutralized by Cruz-Hernandez all night time. (Erika) would definitely give Serrano a aggressive battle, but when she hopes to have an opportunity, she might want to tighten her protection after she throws mixtures.”
Additionally this week, an all-women’s card (virtually, save one or two bouts) occurred in Japan, with at least three of our rated atomweight fighters seeing motion.
In a string of upsets, Yuko Kuroki defeated No. 5 Nanae Suzuki, Mika Iwakawa decisioned No. 3 Ayaka Miyao, and No. 4 Eri Matsuda received her battle over Kaori Nagai by determination in eight rounds. Towards this backdrop, it turned crucial to yield the ground to our Japanese correspondent Yuriko Miyata for a deeper perception on the scenario.
“I’d put Iwakawa above Kuroki as she secured the win in a way more troublesome battle,” stated Miyata. “Though Iwakawa was a little bit over-cautious, she has good timing on her proper counter and is to be referred to as the very best 102 pounder at present in Japan with that win. Former WBC minimumweight champion Kuroki confirmed her talent degree in her sport plan on busy facet steps to keep away from continuous aggressor Suzuki all through the battle. Tall southpaw Matsuda, who received a transparent win this time after two failed makes an attempt to world titles, continues to be a prime candidate to develop into our subsequent champion.”
Yuriko’s movement was unanimously accepted, and the rankings had been rearranged accordingly.
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He additionally wrote for HBO.com, ESPN.com and lots of different magazines, web sites, newspapers and different shops since 1993. He’s a full member of the Boxing Writers Affiliation of America and an elector for the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. He has received two first-place awards within the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he’s the moderator of The Ring’s Girls’s Scores Panel. He served as copy editor for the second period of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is at present a author and editor for RingTV.com. Comply with him on Twitter @MorillaBoxing
