Lauren Price pitched another shutout, this time with historic implications.
The first ever women’s British title fight saw Wales’ Price win every round in a ten-round, unanimous decision victory over Wolverhampton’s Kirstie Bavington. Scores were 100-90 on all three cards for Price, who claimed the British welterweight title in their Sky Sports co-feature Saturday evening at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) was previously resistant to making the domestic belt available in women’s bouts, given the lack of regional depth at each weight. Enough relevant British welterweights have come to surface to where the Board permitted the inaugural title fight.
Price was ecstatic to compete for the prize but otherwise treated the ten-round affair as just another bout. A gold medalist for Great Britain during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Price was far too skilled for the determined Bavington (7-4-2, 2KOs) who stayed true to the scouting report and came forward for all ten rounds.
It was no match for the supremely talented southpaw, who landed clean combinations throughout the night without taking any punishment in return.
Price landed a pair of left hands on an off-balance Bavington in round three, perhaps the lone point in the fight when either fighter threatened to hit the canvas. Her jab found a home in every round, while Bavington struggled to land anything of substance. Price used head movement to avoid her opponent’s power shots even at close quarters and otherwise relied on footwork and her left hand to keep Bavington at bay for all ten rounds.
The win advanced Price’s pro record to 4-0 (1KO). She has yet to lose a round since her pro debut just last June, having rapidly advanced from six- to eight- and now ten-round contests.
Headlining the show, unbeaten contender Joshua Buatsi (16-0, 13KOs)—a 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist for Great Britain—faces Poland’s Pawel Stepien (18-0-1, 12KOs) in a scheduled ten-round light heavyweight contest.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox