Natasha Jonas (born 18 June 1984) is a British
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who has held the
WBO female
junior-middleweight title since February 2022. Since September 3rd 2022 she has held the
WBC female
super-welterweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title. Since November 12th 2022 she held the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Light middleweight
Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title. an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, she won a bronze medal in the
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing.
Boxing
Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing.
Notable lightweight boxe ...
division at the
2012 AIBA World Championships; bronze in the
light welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
division at the
2011 European Championships; and silver in the light welterweight division at the
2014 European Championships.
Amateur career
Jonas took up boxing in 2005 and by 2010 she had won five
ABA Championships
The England Boxing National Amateur Championships previously known as the ABA Championships is the premier boxing tournament hosted annually by England Boxing. The Championships are 'open' class: any Boxing, boxer who is registered with a club r ...
in the 64 kg Division for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
club Rotunda ABC. In November 2009 she became the first female boxer to compete for
GB Boxing
Great Britain Boxing is a team of elite amateur boxers from Great Britain, which is funded by the National Lottery and is based in the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
The Great British boxing team is split into two squads, the 'Podium ...
. In the same year she claimed gold in the 64 kg division at the
2009 Women's European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in t ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, after she overcame Csilla Csejtei of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in the final. Jonas another gold medal in the inaugural
GB Amateur Boxing Championships
The GB Amateur Boxing Championships is an amateur boxing tournament, founded in 2010, in which boxers from England, Scotland and Wales compete over a two-day period. It is hosted by the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA), which was esta ...
in 2010, when she pipped rival Amanda Coulson by one point in an exciting bout in front of her home fans at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
's
Echo Arena.
2012 AIBA Women's World Amateur Boxing Championships
Jonas made history in
Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in May 2012, when she reached the semi-finals of the
2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships
The 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships was held in Qinhuangdao, China from May 9 to May 22, 2012.
For the first time, this world championship served as a qualifier for the 2012 Summer Olympics. 305 boxers participated from 70 countri ...
to become the first ever female British boxer to qualify for an
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, she then went on to take the bronze medal and a place in the
2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
back to Liverpool with her.
2012 Olympic Games
Jonas became the first ever British female boxer to compete at an Olympic Games. Jonas faced
Quanitta Underwood
Quanitta 'Queen' Underwood (born May 8, 1984) is an American boxer. She discovered the sport at the age of nineteen when she wandered into Cappy's Boxing Gym and Club. Underwood represented the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The Unite ...
of the United States in the round of 16, Jonas emphatically beat Underwood, 21:13 winning three of the four rounds boxed.
Her wins set up a quarter-final bout with four-time World Champion, and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
's flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony,
Katie Taylor
Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...
.
Jonas lost heavily to Taylor 26:15.
Professional boxing record
Personal life
Initially intending to be a footballer, Jonas spent eighteen months at
St. Peter's College in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on a football scholarship. After suffering an injury that ended her football career, she returned to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and studied media studies at
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, before admitting its first male st ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. She was employed for five years by
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
and was a mentor for the Youth Sport Trust for four years, helping to promote sport and healthy lifestyles to school-age children.
Jonas is an older sister of footballer
Nikita Parris
Nikita Josephine Parris (born 10 March 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester United and the England national team. She previously played for Division 1 Féminine club Olymp ...
.
In the media
In July 2012, Jonas appeared alongside
Tom Stalker
Thomas Lee Stalker (born 30 June 1984) is an English professional boxer who challenged for the Commonwealth lightweight title in 2017. He won multiple international medals while competing for England as an amateur, including gold at the 2010 C ...
and James Dickens in
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
documentary, ''Knockout Scousers'', which followed her to
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on her pursuit for Olympic qualification, a production which she also narrated.
References
External links
*
Natasha Jonas (Official Website)''natashajonas.co.uk''
"Natasha Jonas’s weight of expectation" ''The Times'', 16 August 2009
Natasha's exclusive training diary in the build up to London 2012 for Livefight
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas, Natasha
1984 births
Living people
English women boxers
Boxers from Liverpool
Black British sportswomen
Alumni of Edge Hill University
Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic boxers of Great Britain
Boxers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games competitors for England
AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists
Southpaw boxers
Super-featherweight boxers
Lightweight boxers
World Boxing Organization champions
World Boxing Council champions
International Boxing Federation champions
The Ring (magazine) champions
World light-middleweight boxing champions