Jessica McCaskill sees in Lauren Price the fighter McCaskill was when she was preparing to fight Katie Taylor in 2017.
On the occasion of both of their seventh professional fights – Taylor had significantly more amateur experience – McCaskill fought the celebrated WBA lightweight champion, and despite defeat significantly enhanced her reputation.
In her following fight she fought for and won the WBC super lightweight title, and she has since used it to become one of the world’s leading female fighters, twice beating Cecilia Braekhus and also fighting – and, in a closer fight than that with Taylor, losing to – Chantelle Cameron in 2022.
The 29-year-old Price, similarly, enters her seventh professional contest, and is aware of what a significant step up in class McCaskill represents. McCaskill, 10 years her senior, has had more world-title fights than Price has had fights. Price winning the vacant British welterweight title against Kirstie Bavington in 2023 represents her biggest achievement as a professional to date.
“I see a lot of myself in this specific situation,” the American responded when asked about Price’s relative inexperience ahead of their fight on May 11 at Cardiff’s Utility Arena for her WBA and Ring Magazine welterweight titles. “As far as boxing for females was, and where it is now, we need people not to be afraid; we need people to take the challenge; we need people to stop waiting around for someone to get old or to lose or whatever. We’re just trying to build female boxing, and this is how you do it.
“My Katie Taylor fight was around the same time. Six or seven fights. Me being able to show what I could do in the ring with Katie Taylor catapulted my career; this could do the same for her. I don’t think it’s too soon. She’s an athlete; she’s an all-round athlete; not just boxing, but she’s played other sports, so she’ll be fine. She knows her body. If it were anybody else I would probably say, ‘Yes, this is too soon’. [But] I think this is a good job for her.”
Her victories over Braekhus made McCaskill the undisputed champion at welterweight, where she remains undefeated. Wales’ Price won Olympic gold at middleweight at Tokyo 2020.
“Cecelia [Braekhus, when I fought her] very much put herself on a pedestal and forgot about what boxing is,” McCaskill reflected. “It’s fighting. It’s fighting for everything you put into the sport. I don’t see my friends all the time; I’m missing my dog right now; I don’t get to travel back home. There’s so much sacrifice, at least for me, that every time I get into that fight, that person is paying for my sacrifices. She forgot a lot about those things and what boxing really is, and let herself age, and the torch [get] taken from her. There’s no reason to feel like I’m not ready for this.
“I have an appreciation for how [Price] talks about her team and how she seems to be well taken care of [her trainer is Rob McCracken] and the drive that she has. We did interviews yesterday and she was at the gym doing the interview – she had just finished working out. I see some of the key aspects that you should have as a fighter showing up.
“I’m so over the dramatic calling people out on the internet and saying ridiculous things and flipping tables. I just want to fight and do what I can before I’m done.
“I have great expectations for you [Price]. I think you’re doing some amazing things for boxing and I want to see you do well. Not well enough to beat me, obviously, but I hope you’re going to do everything right in camp until we get to this fight. Then it’s on.”