IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas believes her punching power will be a big difference in the upcoming defense against Mikaela Mayer.
The two top fighters will collide on January 20 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, live on ESPN and Sky Sports.
Jonas expects that her ability to take punches from bigger fighters will play a role in the contest.
“I think so,” Jonas told Sky Sports. “I know what it feels like to take and absorb those shots from the bigger girls and I just don’t see her hurting me in that sense.
“There’s lots of different variables that she’s going to have to deal with and one of them is getting punched by a naturally bigger and stronger girl.”
Mayer was a unified champion at super featherweight. Since losing in a close fight with Alycia Baumgardner in 2022, she’s gradually moved up in weight by several divisions.
In 2022, Jonas jumped up by several divisions to junior middleweight and eventually captured three world titles at 154-pounds. She later decided to drop down to welterweight, earlier this year, to pursue bigger fights.
She believes Mayer is making a mistake by going up in weight in every fight since suffering her first loss.
“She was 142lbs [in her last fight]. That’s another five pounds you’ve got to add and still perform. Was she the same person at 140lbs that she was at 135lbs? I don’t believe so,” Jonas said.
“There’s a whole science behind it. You’ve got to get your body used to carrying that extra weight. For so long she’s been used to being 130lbs.
“All of a sudden saying here’s an extra 15lbs, 17lbs, go and fight the same way you did then – no. It takes time to get used to. There’s a lot of adaptations you have to go through. I’ve managed to do that in fights, from [Chris] Namus to [Marie-Eve] Dicaire and then going back down to [Kandi] Wyatt.”