Katie Taylor edges Natasha Jonas to defend lightweight titles in thriller

Katie Taylor remains undefeated as she continues to be the undisputed queen at lightweight, but the Irish icon was pushed to her absolute limit by Natasha Jonas in a gripping 10-round contest.

A razor-tight decision, which saw Taylor triumph (96-94, 96-95, 96-95) on the cards, deserved a raucous crowd in Manchester, as both women displayed immense desire alongside their skills, with each round providing back and forth action.

Taylor’s 12th consecutive world title fight, with her quartet of belts on the line in a rematch of the 2012 Olympic contest, was one of her most enthralling to date thanks to the Liverpudlian challenger’s thudding arsenal of shots and strength to last the distance.

THE BATTLE

The fight caught fire from the opening bell, with both boxers going at each other from the word go. But it was Taylor’s speed and subtle movement that saw her take the initiative.

The fight began with Taylor jabbing well from distance while Jonas looked to counter punch. Taylor upped the aggression in round two and landed effectively with combinations.

Jonas changed her approach in the third, no longer waiting and attempting to counter, but instead meeting fire with fire to good success.

Taylor adapted to this and found a home for some eye-catching single shots in rounds four and five.

In round seven, both boxers showed tremendous heart and Jonas appeared to be battling her way back into the contest.

The eighth was explosive again as Taylor now looked to be struggling to match Jonas’ aggression.

However, the challenger was tired in round nine and the champion’s accuracy was telling.

In the final round, they met in the centre of the ring and hurled heavy blows at one another, both remarkably refusing to wilt.

Taylor said post fight: “I had a bit of a slow start, but I thought I won the championship rounds and happily came out with a great win.”

“It’s high quality boxing, skill, heart, grit, you have everything you need.”

“We’ve been saying all week it could’ve been a headline fight, that shows why.”