Terri Harper and Natasha Jonas battle to draw in incredible fight

Terri Harper retained her junior lightweight titles against Natasha Jonas, but not the way she planned. Harper vs. Jonas became one of the best bouts in 2020. 

Leading up to Matchroom Boxing‘s second installment of fight camp on Friday, Aug. 7, most anticipated a competitive contest between WBC and IBO junior lightweight champion Terri Harper and veteran Natasha Jonas. It turned out to be a contender for Fight of the Year honors.

Harper (10-0-1, 5KOs), 23, of Yorkshire, England, was the favorite against former Olympian Jonas. After all, Jonas (9-1-1, 7 KOs), of Liverpool, England, had a loss on her record and is 13 years older than Harper. Despite the difference in age, Jonas gave Harper all she could handle.

Harper was more active throughout the bout, but Jonas’s punches carried more authority. They engaged in a bloody tug-of-war battle that could have gone either way.

Harper looked impressive in the first few rounds and used her speed to score on Jonas. Going into round 3, Jonas bled from a cut over the right eye that likely opened due to a clash of heads. Harper seemed encouraged by the damage done to Jonas and hurt her with a straight right hand.

Jonas’s legs looked terrible for a moment, but she wisely held onto Harper to stall her momentum and make it through the round.

Rounds 4 and 5 were close, and Harper and Jonas fought at close quarters, but in round 6 and 7, Harper had the edge trapping Jonas on the ropes and outworking her in spurts of activity.

Terri Harper had the advantage in punches thrown but showed weakness in rounds 8 and 9.

Just when it looked like Harper was taking control of the contest, Jonas rocked her with a straight left and right hook that nearly sent Harper down in round 8. Harper held on to make it to the bell.

In round 9, Harper ate another Jonas left hand that made her legs wobble for a second time in the bout. Jonas won back-to-back rounds in a big way, but couldn’t keep the momentum going into the 10th and final round.

Harper knew that her titles were slipping away and found a second wind. She let her hands go and scored at will. Jonas landed several punches, but they were few and far between. Jonas gassed out as the younger champion’s youth kept her in the fight.

It’s no surprise the judges returned scores of 96-94 for Harper, 96-95 for Jonas, and 95-95 even, resulting in a split-draw. Harper keeps her titles but wasn’t able to win the match.

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Both boxers showed each other a lot of respect and conducted a post-fight interview together.

“This is a monumentous [sic] occasion for women’s boxing,” said Jonas. “I’m not going to be around forever. This young one is coming through, and it’s great to see.”

Both boxers gave it their all, which resulted in one of the best boxing bouts in 2020. It could have gone either way and a rematch is desirable. The junior lightweight division is loaded, but Jonas did enough to earn a second crack at Harper. Hopefully, she gets it.