WBC and WBO champions Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price press conference with undercard fighters
05/03/2025
Royal Albert hall, London, UK
05/03/2025
Royal Albert hall, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Big Mo, thanks very much, terrific introductions and even better attendance today. If you look
00:08around the room, great to see so many members of the press here and so many supporters of
00:13the respective teams. What a card that Benchelor, Boxer, Sky Sports and the Royal Albert Hall
00:20will be hosting on Friday night. That's the key that we want to keep getting across, Friday
00:24night, because you do not want to miss it. What a title for this card as well, Unstoppable.
00:30It feels like everything is unstoppable, some of the fighters that have been mentioned unstoppable,
00:35the continued wave of fighters that are coming through is unstoppable and everything just
00:41seems to be growing and crescendoing on Friday. It's looking great, we've been in this position
00:48a few weeks ago out in Saudi Arabia and you hope that the card stays together. I've got
00:52no reason to believe it won't, but Benchelor, you must be really happy with the bill that
00:57you put together for this. Some really good pick-em fights and some great talent on show
01:02as well. Yeah, just Big Mo going through it then sends shivers down you. I think the amount
01:08of talent on this card, the amount of fighters, the amount of fights, 50-50 fights all the
01:12way through, it just shows where the sport has come. Royal Albert Hall, 100 years of
01:17boxing, Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, the first time we're going to see a
01:22female fight headline the card. It feels like history, it really does, an all-female card
01:26as well and the card itself. I think Natasha Jonas was the first GB fighter to represent
01:33our country in 2012 and so to be here 13 years later and to have this card and have the divisions
01:40now so stacked, probably because of what Natasha and Katie represented, what they achieved.
01:45I know Chloe Watson on the card started boxing because of Natasha Jonas, so to see it come
01:50full circle is amazing. In the past two or three years, where women's boxing has got
01:55to is phenomenal. It's one of the few sports where women can really compete with the men,
02:00with viewing figures, with commercials, with venues. I've got to thank Sky Sports, I've
02:05got to thank Royal Albert Hall because without them we don't get something that is truly
02:09historic on Friday night. Thanks to the fighters because they're all putting their careers
02:14on the line in career-defining fights.
02:17Well, from top to bottom there's talent breaking through and I want to start with, in no particular
02:24order but Francesca Hennessy, great to have you here, great to have you on the bill. We
02:30should just say there is a late change of opponent for you, Fran, just because of some
02:33unfortunate visa issues. So in steps Gemma Ruegg, not that it makes a difference to you,
02:38I'm sure. I've spoke to you and your dad and you're both chomping at the bit and what was
02:42the line that you gave us yesterday that you want to take the roof off the Royal Albert
02:45Hall? Tell us how you go about doing that.
02:48Oh, you know, look, I live in the boxing gym, you know, I love to fight. As long as I'm
02:53focusing on myself, I don't care who's in front of me. So, yeah, I'm ready. Gemma's
02:58a strong, tough opponent. She won a title in her last fight, you know, and I'm just
03:03ready to go and put on a show at a historic event.
03:06Yeah, you mentioned the title that she won. Obviously, I think anyone that's watched her
03:11fights, we've had her on Sky Sports a couple of times. She comes to win. She's tough and
03:15you're going to have to be on your A-game if you're going to get to where everyone keeps
03:20telling us that you want to get to and you're destined to get to. You can't afford any slip-ups
03:23against the likes of Gemma Ruegg.
03:25Oh, no, definitely, definitely not. But as I said, I'm ready. You know, I focus on myself.
03:30I work hard, I train hard. I'm feeling great and I'm ready to put on a show on Friday night
03:36and, you know, make the Royal Albert Hall electric.
03:40Yeah, I just touched on it briefly yesterday, but your dad has pretty much, you know, been
03:45in every boxing venue. He knows what the significance of the Royal Albert Hall brings. Has he discussed
03:49that with you? I get the impression, you know, whether it's a stadium, whether it's York
03:53Hall, you want to sort of bring that touch of, I don't know, sparkle that we've seen
03:57from you, be it the ring walk, be it the performance. To do that at the Royal Albert Hall adds a
04:01nice dynamic for it.
04:03Oh, definitely. It's got to be extra special for this one, hasn't it? It's a great venue
04:07to tick off the bucket list. And I'm so happy to be performing in that venue amongst, you
04:13know, loads of greats have fought here in the past. And as you said, my dad's been there
04:18many times over the years. So, yeah, it just feels great to fight there. And I'm going
04:23to put on a very special performance for everyone.
04:26Great to have you here. We're expecting to see Gemma Roeg tomorrow, so we'll catch up
04:29with her then. Down to the other end of the table, Kirsty Bamington, you've got that European
04:34title in front of you, two-time holder of that. We know exactly what you bring to the
04:38table, but you're in a strange dynamic against a debutant in Cindy and Gambon. I put that
04:43to you yesterday. I wonder how that sits with you. Yes, a fight is a fight, but with the
04:47experience that you've got under your belt, do you believe that perhaps, you know, a seasoned
04:51professional like yourself, the fact that they've chosen you for a professional debut
04:55opponent is a sign of disrespect or it's not that deep?
04:59It's not that deep. I wanted to be here. I wanted to be on this platform. So, I'm glad
05:05that I'm here. I'm ready to cause an upset again and make a statement.
05:09Is that what motivates you, you know, turning up, causing the upset, upsetting the odds?
05:15Yeah, I love being the underdog. I love the underdog mentality. You know what I mean?
05:19I've got nothing to lose. The confidence is high. I'm buzzing. I'm buzzing to be around.
05:24A person said I'm jumping around. So, I mean, I'm confident and I'm ready to go. And it's
05:29an eight round at the end of the day. I just want to get in there and show them what I'm about.
05:34What do you know about Cindy in terms of how she might approach this? She obviously has
05:40got no pro fights to go against, but in terms of an amateur, she's got a terrific reputation.
05:45Yeah, I mean, I've followed Cindy for a few years now. I mean, all respect to her. But,
05:52the program's a little bit different time experience. So, we'll see what it's like when
05:57we get in there with 10 ounce gloves and no head guard. So, we'll see how we get on.
06:03Cindy, I'll give you a chance to sort of answer that. 10 ounce gloves and no head guard. Is that
06:07something that you're looking forward to? I'm looking forward to my debut.
06:16There's no difference. Boxing is boxing to me. I know I'm capable of, I know my skills and I
06:22know what I can achieve. This is what I want. I want it to be torn to the deep end and she's an
06:29opponent at the end of the day and I'm ready to get the game rolling. There's no hard feeling
06:33to it really. It's just another fight that I have to get out of the way to move to keep on achieving
06:38many, many aims and goals in my pro journey. Do you mind if I ask you if people didn't follow
06:43your Olympic journey and they haven't studied you when you were an amateur, what do you think
06:47that you'll bring to the pro game specifically? Even before the Olympic, my goal was to turn pro
06:55but obviously the Olympic was the main one that I feel like to even qualify for the
07:01Olympic is the most hardest thing ever and to even be at the Olympic and face the best of the best is
07:06that itself is another hard step and I was able to overcome that. So, I'm not saying that the
07:11pro scene is going to be easier. Obviously, it's going to be challenging but I have proven that
07:17in the amateurs and I'm going to prove that in the pros too. We know you're a proud member of
07:22that refugee team but also very, very much aligned with Team GB and I think those of us that have
07:27seen you on the circuit, sparring the likes of Chantelle Cameron, Tasha Jonas, Lauren Price,
07:31Savannah Marshall, you will have been in with world champions. How far away do you think that
07:38realistically will be for you? Do you set yourself a ceiling or a goal that you think you can get to
07:44world championship level sooner rather than later? Definitely, like you said, I've been in with the
07:48best of the best. I've shared many, many rounds and minutes with all of them. All of them are amazing
07:53female boxers, Natasha Jonas, Savannah Marshall, Lauren Price and Chantelle Cameron and I got as
07:59many experience rounds with all of them but if you speak to most of all of them, they will tell you
08:05what I'm capable of and my ability and also deep down, I know myself of what I'm capable of.
08:11Like I said before, I've shown that at the Olympic and on Friday, I'm going to show that again.
08:15Yeah, we're really looking forward to it and it's great to have you on the card. That's
08:20Cindy Nganba, Kirstie Bavington, really looking forward to that one. Chloe Watson
08:24and Jasmina Zapokochnar, we're looking forward to this European flyweight title. Jasmina,
08:31come to you first. If we could come to you first, just set this up for us because it was a relatively
08:38late addition to the card but everybody has been telling us on the scene how this should be a
08:43really good style matchup. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how confident you are coming
08:48into this fight. So first of all, everyone knows that this fight's going to be a big fight because
08:58knowing me and Chloe, we had a lot of sparring together, a lot of rounds, tough rounds.
09:05And yeah, after beating Maisie Rose, there was an opportunity to fight for European title with
09:12Chloe. Unfortunately, due to her injury, it's been postponed. But yeah, we were looking forward,
09:18I was looking forward to another fight, another date. And yeah, here I am with Chloe on Royal
09:25Albert Hall and yeah, I'm just looking forward, I'm so excited, I'm so happy and so grateful to
09:32be part of this big, big show. And yeah, it's going to be very, very enjoyable to watch a fight
09:38on Friday night. How do you go about beating Chloe? And it's always an interesting dynamic
09:43when you've done loads of rounds together. It means that you know her strengths, but you probably
09:48have identified some weaknesses as well. Yeah, of course, I know what I'm capable of. I'm
09:53believing in myself. And yeah, in the end of the day, I did everything what I could to be
10:01the best version of myself. So yeah, on Friday, just a better fight to win.
10:07And we'll see what it's going to be. But I believe in myself a lot.
10:10You probably welcome that, Chloe, don't you? This is Jasmina's shop window as well in terms
10:15of coming off a great win against Maisie Rose to jump up to your level. You see this as a platform
10:22yourself to sort of shoot yourself into the mainstream spotlight as well.
10:26Yeah, 100%. And you know, she just mentioned before, we've done many rounds with each other
10:31and people are going to be in for a treat on Friday. Yeah, I mean, we love a sparring story,
10:36and we'll probably come to that in other fights on the bill later on. But what are those spars,
10:41particularly like? I sort of asked Jasmina the same question there. You can identify strengths,
10:46but also you will have seen some weaknesses. Do you mind sharing where you feel that you can win
10:50this fight? Yeah, we've had good spars. But a spar is different from a fight. And it's going to
10:57be a really, really good fight on Friday. But yeah, I'm just ready to turn up. All the hard
11:03work's being put in, and I'm feeling good. Bench and I'll mention it in the intros,
11:07and I don't want to take us down a complete tangent, but there's that great photo of Tasha
11:11coming to your school. And am I right to say that you didn't know that you went to the same school
11:16until she actually visited, and that was one of the key moments in your development?
11:19Yeah, so I actually seen her in the paper like the week before. And then, yeah, the next week,
11:23I was seeing her in my school. So it was crazy. But yeah, when she came in and spoke to me about
11:27the opportunities within the sport, it really gave me a kick, gave me a boost.
11:34Well-swerved. I do appreciate that. I do appreciate that.
11:38I knew where I was getting at. Yeah, I know where you're going.
11:41It gave me a little boost to, you know, take it seriously. And yeah, here I am.
11:46Yeah, I mean, boxing's full of these stories, isn't it? But it is nice that it goes full story.
11:49You're up at the top table, and Chloe, you know, I'm sure it won't be long before you're up on the
11:54top table yourself. What a great sort of circle of boxing that is. Moving on, Raven Chapman and
11:59Karris Artingstall. Really, really looking forward to this one. Raven, we spoke at length yesterday,
12:04and I think a lot of people could see this as another style matchup, which, again, has all
12:10the ingredients that it could steal the show. How motivated are you to get past Karris in a fight
12:16that now houses, for the first time in history, the British featherweight title as well?
12:22Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. Like I say, I think it's a really good clash of styles.
12:27You know, I think we're both good boxers, we're both aggressive, and I think that makes for a
12:31really good fight. There's a title on the line now, which will, I'm sure, make the hunger in
12:36both of us even more. We both want that belt, and, yeah, I'm just looking forward to getting
12:41in there on Friday and getting the job done. Where do you see your strengths against Karris?
12:48I've got a bit more experience than Karris in the pros, but I think me doing what I do best
12:55is strengthen itself and will overcome whatever Karris has to bring.
12:59You've had a bump in the road, obviously, last time out, but it was against
13:02world-class opposition for a world title. What have you taken away from that whole experience
13:08that you feel that you've improved on? There was a lot to learn in that experience,
13:12obviously. Not only that, but also being in Saudi Arabia, massive fight card, lots going on,
13:19which was a new experience for me as well. So, yeah, we learned a lot from it, but,
13:23you know, that's in the past. This is a different fight.
13:27Being me, again, in the gym, I've been working hard, and I feel really good this week.
13:33Will you give us a prediction? How do you win this fight?
13:39Well, I think it, obviously, I believe in myself, so I believe I'll win. We'll see what happens on
13:45the night. I'm not going to say there's going to be a stoppage, because normally when you're
13:48looking for a stoppage, that's not when it comes, but who knows? We're both hard hitters.
13:53But I know I'm going to get that win. I'm going to get my arm raised, and that belt will be around
13:57my waist. I wish you all the best of luck. Karris, presumably you echo and welcome those
14:03sentiments from Raven. They're a confident camp, and they're saying all the right things,
14:06and I wonder, in your career, if this is the sort of injection of pace that you need?
14:13I just believe, like, when you're sat up on this table, you say what, like, people are going to
14:19back themselves and say they're going to win, et cetera, et cetera. I'm going to sit here now and
14:24say I'm going to win. If you're going to ask me the question, how does it play out? Like,
14:28how do I see myself winning? I just believe I box Raven. Like, I'm just a better boxer,
14:32and I just think I outbox her. I stick to what I do best, and I believe I get my hand raised at
14:37the end of the night. You're quite hard on yourself after fights, usually in the post-fight
14:44interview situation. Would you concede that we've seen flashes of what you're capable of,
14:52but we haven't perhaps seen the full package yet? Yeah, definitely. I believe, as people say,
14:58the better the opponent in front of you, the better the performance that you'll get from,
15:02like, talking about myself, myself, obviously. I haven't performed to the best of my ability at the
15:08minute. I know what I'm capable of doing. I know the talent I've got. Like, you don't just get up
15:12on the wall and get an Olympic medal for no reason. I know what I'm capable of doing,
15:18and I'm ready to showcase that on Friday. And I think we've spoken in the past about where you
15:27see yourself getting to, that you feel that you can get to world title level, win a world title,
15:33and get in amongst the names like Sky Nicholson. Is that still an ambition of yours to get that
15:41done in the next 12 months? Yeah, definitely, but I'm not looking past Raven Chapman on Friday.
15:46I've got a fight to get through on Friday night, one I believe I'm fully capable of winning,
15:50but that is my main focus. But I need to get through Raven to be getting my hands on some
15:57of them shiny belts behind me, like, and that's what drives me. That's where I want to be. I want
16:01to be the best in my weight category. Raven Chapman's an obstacle in front of me right now,
16:07and that's the one that my full attention and focus is on. Okay, we look forward to that contest.
16:14Up to the top table, I'm going to go to my left first, to the challenger, Bomi Ray Shin,
16:21who has got Billy here to translate. Can you just tell us about your journey
16:26to this point and how excited and what we can look forward to on Friday?
16:37I wasn't the case like where I started boxing since I was young. I started
16:59boxing when I became an adult, and I tried my best all the time, and here I am.
17:07What is the best way to beat Caroline Dubois?
17:23Being here, I just think like just doing always what I've been doing would be the best way.
17:30We've seen fights of yours in the past. You do bring a very aggressive style. Do you plan on
17:35using that aggressive style on Friday, or have you got something different planned?
17:53Yes. Okay, that's a nice way to finish it. Caroline, your response to some of the things
18:01you've heard there. I presume you welcome this sort of affair, this sort of pressure,
18:08come forward, meet me in the middle of the ring. Do you believe that she will back that up?
18:13We'll see. Talk is cheap. To be fair, she hasn't done much talking, but
18:17she's here, and I just take it as every time I step in the ring, I don't know if it's arrogance,
18:22I don't know if it's confidence, I don't know what it is, but I feel like it's an audacity
18:27to think that she can beat me. I don't know where she's getting that from. I don't know who's
18:32filling her head and where she's getting it and what she thinks that she has over me, but it's
18:37audacious to think that she thinks she can get in the ring and beat me because she ain't better than
18:40me. I know you might just brush it off, but what have you got to be wary of? Nothing. Okay.
18:47Nothing. Nothing at all. I step in the ring and I beat me. I believe I have the ability to stop
18:53this girl, and that's what I do. I don't just come in the ring to put in a performance and outbox
18:59people and go through the motions. Every time I step into the ring, I put a personal ambition.
19:04I get frustrated. The amount of times I've come out the ring and I'm frustrated with myself.
19:09If I don't get in the ring and people aren't saying my name, saying, wow,
19:13like Karen Dubois, she's something special. She's not just here to take part. She's here to take
19:17over. These belts, these are mine, and for Bo to think that she's going to come here and just
19:22take them from me like that, you know, she's got another thing coming. It was the most one-sided
19:27technical draw that we've seen. I think that's fair to say. Did you feel any sense of unfulfillment
19:32last time or is it just, it's the results column, but I think everybody that saw the fight,
19:37we probably have a different perspective. I wonder what your perspective on it is. No,
19:40listen, as I said before, every time I step into the ring, it's about performing. It's about
19:45putting on a performance. And I feel like when I left the ring, it was my name that people were
19:49saying. I feel like I put on a great performance. I did everything on my side that I could do.
19:54You know, the results are the results. You know, I can't change the rules. The rules are what they
19:58are. So that's not my job. My job is to turn up and kick ass. Okay. Yeah. She's number one with
20:05the WBC, but is the goal this year over the next 12 months? Undisputed, 100%. Undisputed world
20:11champion by the end of this year, maybe early next year at the latest. But, you know, this time next
20:16year, I want to be undisputed queen in the 145 pound division. I love that. I don't even have
20:20to finish the question. Hopefully we can carry that on as we make our way to the main event.
20:25Bring in Ben Shalom. It felt like a natural fight to make from all the buildup that we've seen.
20:34You know, people were disputing who wanted to fight, who, when they wanted to fight. But now
20:39we're here. I think it just represents a brilliant all British domestic unification that everybody's
20:45really sort of got up for. I wonder if you've even been surprised with the reaction to the fight and
20:50how it's built to this point now and how much you're looking forward to it. Yeah, look, it was
20:54a fight we wanted to make. I think it's the two best welterweights in the world, but it's the
20:59biggest all British female fight ever. And so to be able to put this on, to be able to put it on in
21:04the Royal Albert Hall, to have people like Natasha Jonas, who for me has done more for women's boxing
21:10than any other British fighter in this country. And for her to be 13 years on from the Olympics
21:15headlining events, still being at the forefront of the sport is phenomenal. And then you look
21:21to her opponent, Lauren Price, NBA gold medalist. I won't say she's never lost around because Joe
21:26Gallagher might pipe up, but she has never lost around. And she's a phenomenal talent. And again,
21:32it's two ambassadors that this sport needs. It's two ambassadors coming together. It's two big
21:37now rivals as to who's going to take the number one spot. And yeah, a phenomenal event for women's
21:43boxing, a phenomenal event for boxing and could be one of the fights of the year.
21:48Welcome to both champions. Tasha, I'll come to you first. I wonder how this compares to everything
21:54that's gone before. I often hear fighters say, you know, it's just another fight week. It's just
22:00another fight. A ring is a ring. But how does this fight compare to the others? Would you say
22:05in terms of the eyeballs that are on it, the traction that it's got, you know, there seems to
22:09be a lot of talking already done and what you've made of it all? Yeah, I've just, yeah, it's the,
22:16it is just that though. It is just another fight and you try, you don't try and I'm not trying to
22:20put pressure on myself and build it up into anything other than when we get in the ring,
22:25it's just me versus Lauren. None of the other noise matters and the best woman will win.
22:30Yeah. Well said. You did say in the gloves are off. It means more to Lauren than it does to you.
22:36Do you think that that's been reflected in the buildup? You know, you kind of just flat batted
22:39that back there. It is just another fight week to you, but do you believe that to Lauren that it's
22:44not, it does mean more to her than it does to you? Yeah, because for a win for Lauren means I'm the
22:48best name on a record. A win for me. I don't believe it means the same thing. Joe Gallagher
22:54spoke at length yesterday on the Toe to Toe podcast, which I implore everybody to go and
22:58download and enjoy. But one of the things he said that both of you have brought into camp is this
23:04Marvin Hagler type mentality where you both view that Lauren's trying to take food off your table,
23:11that you have adapted a siege mentality, which actually Joe pulled me up on in the first press
23:14conference and said, we actually haven't got that. But yesterday it was very clear that perhaps,
23:18you know, you have, you've pulled the doors down and it's us against the world. And what difference
23:22that's made in camp? I think it's always, like I say, when you get in the ring it's just you
23:28versus the other person, but there's a little bit more behind this one. There's a little bit
23:32that I want to prove myself right. Yeah. How does that sit with you? Because there is perhaps more
23:38opinions and more debate that doesn't always favour your side with this one. And I wonder
23:42if shutting a few people up is one of the main motivating factors or is it outside noise is not
23:48that important? No, it's not that important to be honest. I'm a bit too long in the tooth,
23:53I won't say old, to be bothered by social media and boxing fans and everyone is entitled to an
24:00opinion. And some of them are justified, some of them aren't. But I'm just going to do what I do
24:07and prove myself right. Yeah. Motivated to prove a point, I think was the line that you used.
24:11Yeah. If I bring in Lauren Price, I mean, the build-up has been great, is one thing I'd say.
24:19It's probably quite new to you, this level of, as a pro, I'm not talking about the Olympic Games
24:23or anything like that, but as a pro, this is probably the biggest build-up that you've had.
24:27How have you found it on your side? You've probably had to do a bit more talking than you
24:30would normally have had to do. What have you made of stuff that's been coming from the other side
24:35as well? Yeah, obviously, it's a great fight and I'm proud to be part of it. I'm looking forward
24:43to it. I'm excited. I'm in a great place mentally and physically. Obviously, the outside noise
24:49is irrelevant. When that bell goes on Friday, there's two of us in there and let the best women
24:55win. How do you think, I echo what Jonny Nelson said on the gloves are off,
25:01you won't know until it's happened, but how do you think you will cope if you do
25:06start losing rounds, if you do have a cut, if you do have a crisis? I know you're not planning on
25:10that, but how do you cope with that and why are you so confident that it won't be a problem?
25:17I've had a good camp, but I think the biggest thing in this game is staying
25:22cool, calm, collected, staying composed. If that happens, then we go again. I've got a
25:27great team in me. Go back to the corner, take instructions and whatever, but I believe in
25:33myself. I know how good I am and I believe I win this fight and that's it. How important is the
25:38man on your shoulder there in terms of keeping you grounded? One thing that's come from the other
25:43side is they feel there's some overconfidence there. Is that true? Are you looking past Tasha
25:48Jonas, looking already towards the undisputed fight that would perhaps await the winner on
25:52both sides? No, definitely not. I respect Tasha. I've said that all along. I'm grateful to be up
26:00at Sheffield and have Rob train me. Obviously, he's a great trainer, but a great friend as well
26:06and I put my full trust in him. We've got a great relationship. Like I said, I just believe in
26:14myself. He believes in me and I'll show everyone on Friday night how good I am. Let's bring in two
26:20great trainers. I'll start with Joe Gallagher. I can probably put a few points to you that were
26:25made by you. Yesterday, you feel there's been some disrespect in terms of the narrative of this fight.
26:30Do you want to explain any of that? No, really just disappointed yesterday.
26:38First of all, before I start all this, I just want to thank everyone for coming up.
26:42It's a privilege to be on the top table here. I think I mentioned I was at the presser beforehand
26:47with Robert years ago when we were in the Lennox Lewis College and he was training John O'Donnell
26:51and Lenny Dawes and I, John Murray, who we thought so many years later would be sat here
26:56with two of the best in the division going head-to-head with each other.
27:02I'm usually a big fan of Cindy. She's the one to look out for and isn't Caroline Dubois a good
27:07talker? Oh my God, I just feel like rubbing a bit of that golden ear before I put my foot in things.
27:12Caroline, I enjoy that you talk. One other thing that I'd like to say. I'd like to
27:20pass on my condolences. I think everyone in the room will share on Kevin Hickey, MBE, who passed
27:25away and at his funeral yesterday. Kevin Hickey was a major, major part of where GB boxing is now.
27:32He was involved in five Olympic Commonwealth cycles. He was instrumental in setting up the GB
27:37giving Rob, Richard Woodall, their opportunities and I just felt it was fitting here with all the
27:44women and how things have changed. Thoughts and prayers are to him and his family at this time.
27:48Yeah, very well said and I think everybody in the room would echo that.
27:56Finish him. No, just yesterday, it's just being in a fight week and you'll come down and you're
28:03assigned to be at a place at 11 o'clock and you have a head-to-head and whether it be Anthony
28:08Joshua versus Daniel Dubois or Tyson Fury, it's just standard at the start of his fight week and
28:14to come downstairs and do a check away at half ten and then be told, oh, Lauren's not here for
28:18the four-water shoe at 11. I just thought, smacked a little bit of disrespect and I don't know the
28:24reasons for or whatever and anything else, but I got the memo last week. Everyone got the memo.
28:29Everyone got the schedule this week and I just thought it was a bit bang out of order, a bit
28:34disrespect from Lauren and the team and there's no excuses. She's got people around her. Obviously,
28:40Rob's a fantastic coach. Obviously, he's been involved with two of the best fighters for years
28:44with Kyle Frotch and Anthony Joshua and he understands fight week and the obligations
28:48of fighters on fight week and for not turning up, I just thought it was a bit out of order
28:53that was yesterday. Did you suggest yesterday on our stream that you felt that Lauren was
28:57struggling at the weight? That was one of the reasons you suggested. Did you want to address
29:00that? Well, I struggle at weight. I mean, it was something that you said you felt that...
29:05No, no, to the point I was saying, the motion hasn't come down because the motion was doing
29:08the last little bit of weight off motion, having the board and Sheffield do the check way up there
29:12instead of coming down to London and doing the check way. That was all. I couldn't think of
29:16no other reason why she wouldn't be here not to do it. No, I don't struggle at weight. Obviously,
29:22I base myself in Sheffield. I haven't been home to Wales. I was training with Rob on Saturday
29:27we actually had a phone call with Sky and I was told, yeah, you don't need to be in London at 11
29:35on Tuesday because I had a check weight from the boxing board of control at half nine
29:40in Sheffield come down for four o'clock. That's what I was told. So it was a cross communication.
29:44All I've done is be respectful in this fight. I'm not respectful. So you take it how you want
29:50to take it, but that's it. Yeah, no problem. We'll all blame Sky then.
29:56Sounds about right, doesn't it?
29:59Sounds about right. Yeah. Sorry, Sky. I didn't say it.
30:04Not quite sure what's happened there. I think it sounds like a miscommunication.
30:06Ben's staying quiet. Yeah, I'm staying quiet. I'm not getting involved.
30:11Rob, do you mind if I bring you in? That was a great argument. That
30:15said a lot of praise and then hit you with the counterpunch at the end there.
30:20No, listen, we'd be annoyed if we got kept waiting around. There's a bit miscommunication and
30:27probably I'm the villain in the piece, to be honest, because the advice I was given was
30:31it's going to be pushed back till later. So apologies for Joe and Natasha hanging around
30:35and coming down the night before. Probably I'll take that one on the chin, but it's not intentional.
30:40Natasha knows me. I wouldn't dream of doing that.
30:42What have you made of the build up? There's a lot of new eyeballs on this. There's a
30:47lot of hype around it. It's the desire to prove who is the best at 147 pounds.
30:53Why is Lauren Price, in your eyes, the best fighter of the two up here?
30:57I think I'll answer your question and then I'll just say that I can understand where
31:03Natasha and Joe's coming from with this fight because she's achieved so much as a professional
31:09and she's at the top of her sport. Then you get somebody come through who's fairly new,
31:14two or three years as a pro and has moved really quickly. So I can understand why
31:20they're not annoyed, but they're a little bit put out that there's pressure to fight Lauren
31:25Price. Then obviously you get people saying, oh, Lauren's going to win this, etc. Suddenly it's
31:30like I've done all this work to get here and now people are doubting me. So I understand where
31:34they're coming from. But look, you're asking me the question. Natasha was fantastic on the
31:40program at GB. She got on to have a fantastic professional career. Two brilliant female
31:45fighters, in my opinion, are going to fight on Friday night. It'll be a fantastic spectacle.
31:50Just in my boxing experience, Lauren Price is phenomenally talented. What she's done
31:55as an amateur possibly doesn't get so much of a spotlight on it as professional boxing.
32:01But when you look at the females in Olympic boxing, lots of them are pros, lots of them are
32:05world champions, and it's as tough as it gets. So I think she served her apprenticeship in that
32:11sport to prepare her for these occasions. You've seen some of the Olympic games and
32:16world championships that she won and the people she had to fight as really, really good fighters.
32:21So yeah, it's prepared her mentally and physically. She's not 21. She's a mature
32:28female. So she's at her peak and she's ready. My experience tells me that when you're
32:34young in pro boxing and you feel ready, that's when you should go for it because pretty soon
32:39you're kind of like, oh, I'll just try and swerve that fight and I'll try and take this one.
32:45Because you get fed up with the training, you get fed up of making the weight. It all becomes
32:49very difficult. Obviously with these two, they're both at their peak of their powers. Natasha's been
32:54remarkable in recent performances. But like I say, you asked me the question, Lauren Price,
32:59she's a phenomenal female boxer and has got huge potential. And that's from my experience.
33:05Just to go back to you, Joe, one of the things that you said yesterday blew my
33:08eardrums up was you feel that there's an unjustifiable hype around Lauren Price.
33:16Robbie just reminded me of that when he was in the position with Kyle and Kyle had been an
33:21unbelievable servant for everyone around the world. And then he had a, I wouldn't say an
33:25upstart, but he had a young cocky George Groves telling him when he's got to knock Kyle down and
33:30all that type of stuff. So yeah, Rob gets it and I get it. And I think that's where that comes from
33:35as well. I think obviously the agenda and the narrative that everyone's trying to have with
33:41Lauren is that she's this unbelievable fighter, hasn't lost this and this Ivan Drago type of
33:47character. And it's like, that's not the case. It's just not the case whatsoever. And
33:52I feel obviously on Friday night, listen, Lauren keeps saying she's younger, faster. Yeah. David
33:58A thought he was till Kyle Thompson, age 40, knocked him out. You can't be experienced in
34:03the ring. And that's what's got to happen on Wednesday night and all the sound bites and
34:07everything else. And I've not lost a minute. I've not lost a round. I've not lost this,
34:11but you will lose a round. And if the referee does his job, you most probably get a point
34:15took off of his head or holding. And then you've got to get hurt. And then that's when the fight
34:19happens. There's one thing with Lauren, when I've gone through all the career and studied
34:22her and watched her and I cannot knock her for it. She's got great. She can't achieve what she's
34:27achieved in life, either football, kickboxing and boxing without that grit, that desire and tenacity.
34:34She has got that. But then it comes to boxing. There's just a little bit of seasoning. There's
34:39a bit of experience. There's a little bit of that. And Natasha has that. So when I reflect back and
34:43say people like Bernard Hopkins and people when Pavlik was coming through and like Kyle in the
34:48end, he ended up doing George Groves at Wembley. Do you understand? It's you just can't buy that
34:52little bit of experience. And listen, as Lauren just said there, she lives in Sheffield. She's
34:58in that bubble. She's there all the time, but she's out of the bubble Saturday night. And
35:03this will be a fight for her Saturday night. You're making the same mistake on Friday.
35:09Friday night. Yeah. Sorry. Friday night. And listen, she is good and you can't deny it. Olympic
35:13gold medalist. What can you do? Natasha made points saying, yeah, when everyone moved on and
35:18Terry Harper and all that stuff, you just got to look at form. And when I've studied her and
35:22against Southpaws, listen, there's a few of them that she couldn't really work out. And a form
35:27guide against fellow Southpaws isn't the best. She avenged one in the Olympics, Atheon Bailon,
35:32but she never beat Arianna Fontaine. And that was a couple of times. And there is for everyone
35:37that's building up this character and this Ivan Drago. There is flaws there. And people say,
35:41yeah, but Natasha has been knocked out. But we're not portraying Natasha as like clubber
35:44Langle, Mr. T. That didn't go to get beat. Do you understand? We know our vulnerabilities. We
35:49know where we are. But just by keep hyping and creating this narrative about Lauren, you half
35:54disrespect and half what Natasha did, but half get it. And it's part of the fight and part of
35:58the buildup. But that's what I'm saying. Just remember that David Haye come out of the world,
36:03flying, talking to Kyle Thompson because he's age 40, and thought he'd do it. And that's what
36:08happened. And you can't buy experience. And this is what's going to happen on Friday night. It's
36:12invaluable. Rob knows, obviously being there with Kyle against George. And like they say to it,
36:17it's a great 50-55. Everyone's got to tune in. It's got to be a brilliant event. And the
36:22atmosphere, obviously having Liam Williams fight Liam Smith in the past. I know how passionate
36:27how the Welsh fans are when they come up. I know how passionate the Scousers will be and people
36:32that will be in there. The atmosphere of electricity. And that's another pressure
36:36point. Now we're in a fight where I feel Natasha in with Katie and Michaela Meyer has had them
36:41tests. Do you understand? And there's a lot of questions to be asked more on Lauren Friday
36:45night than there is on Natasha Jonas. What an answer that is. Do you want to go back in with
36:49any of that? That was an answer at the heart. He likes to talk, doesn't he? I know. I told you
36:55she'll let Caroline talk. I don't know where to start. I think I'll just quick, just quickly,
37:03Joe, just coming back. Only only a small point. I think you're right. And, you know, Natasha's
37:09other challenges and stepped up. This is this is Lauren's challenge. She's she we're not daft.
37:13Natasha is the best opponent she's fought as a professional. And you've got to challenge
37:17yourself as a professional. And if you, you know, you keep taking the fights that you think,
37:20oh, I'll definitely win. I'll definitely win that. So I think it's ambition. It's it's, you
37:25know, drive its belief. And, you know, she's got she's got to step up and she understands that.
37:31And obviously, Natasha's got all that experience waiting for her in the ring when we get in there.
37:34So it's going to be a brilliant fight. And yeah, for female boxing, I think it's fantastic.
37:41Quick one. Can I just come back on that? Because I don't know who's behind this. Ben tells one
37:44thing. So I've seen Lauren saying she wants to fight champions all last year. And you say the
37:49question and the desire. But where was the challenge for Sandy Ryan when she was world
37:54champion? Where was the challenge to Michaela Meyer? I just feel no one wanted to fight me.
37:58Well, that's not what Ben. It is true. It is true. It was it has been hard to get fighters
38:05like that to fight. So Michaela Meyer on social media. She didn't want her. Michaela didn't want
38:09Lauren. OK, then. Sound all right. I was about to blow up X. Do I go back to one point that
38:17Joe was making about you against Southpaws? Any stupid question, stupid answer, but any concerns
38:24there? Any truth in what you're saying? No, it doesn't matter. You know, Southpaw orthodox.
38:29It doesn't matter. You know, I'm experienced. I faced all different styles. That's the great
38:33thing about amateur boxing. You travel the world. People don't understand the level of it.
38:38You come across all different oppositions for bigger people. So, yeah, regardless,
38:44whereas Southpaw orthodox, you know, I've been in there. I've had a great camp. I've had great
38:48sparring. Like I keep saying, I'm mentally and physically in a great position and I'll show
38:53how good I am on Friday night. The best way to end these things usually is to ask the two main
38:58event fighters to give one final message to each other. This time, I would say, just make your
39:04final case why you win this fight direct to each other. If you want to go first, Tasha, or, you
39:09know, it's it is Jonas Price. So you could go second if you want. I'll give you the choice.
39:13No, it doesn't make any difference to me. I think, you know, experience, accuracy, time and
39:21boxing IQ is why I win. But I do believe she'll bring the best version of her. I'm prepared for
39:26that. And I'm going to bring the best version of me. She'll be prepared for that. And the best
39:31woman will win. I'll give you the same opportunity. Your message to Natasha Jonas on why you will win.
39:39Too quick, too good, too young. That's it really. I believe in myself and I'll be getting my hand
39:45raised on Friday. Okay, unless anybody's got anything else to add. I don't think that there
39:51is anything. Just lastly, there's a last word with him. I can't wait for after the fight. So we can
39:57say we were just too old, too slow and too good. Just lastly, I think there's about 150 tickets
40:05left. It will sell out on Friday night. It's an unbelievable card. This main event, two,
40:10you know, legends of trainers, two unbelievable fighters. It's a 50-50 fight. The atmosphere,
40:16as you say, the Liverpool, the Scousers and the Welsh fans coming down, it's going to be
40:20spectacular in Albert Hall. We will see you on Friday. If you haven't consumed the shoulder
40:26programming, it's all across.