The promoter of undisputed women’s middleweight champion Claressa Shields says his side has made an offer to Britain’s unified light-middleweight champ Natasha Jonas, but that he understands the Liverpudlian has turned the fight down.
“I believe it was Don King who said there are many ways to say no, and only one way to say yes,” Dmitry Salita said in an interview on the Slothboxx YouTube channel. “I believe she has found several different ways to say no. As of right now, that fight is not on.”
Jonas, 13-2-1 (8 KOs), rebounded from losing a decision to Katie Taylor for the undisputed lightweight championship by knocking out Chris Namus in two rounds to claim the WBO strap, and has since added the WBC and IBF belts via victories over Patricia Berghult and Marie-Eve Dicaire.
Shields, who has also been a unified light-middleweight and super-middleweight champion, claimed all the middleweight belts for the second time in her career by outpointing Savannah Marshall at the O2 Arena in London in October to run her record to 13-0 (2 KOs). Marshall had defeated Shields as an amateur in 2012 – the only loss, amateur or pro, that Shields has suffered in the boxing ring.
Salita told Sky Sports that he and Shields would welcome the opportunity to return to the United Kingdom to face Jonas.
