Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin: Will Liverpool’s champion deliver again on home soil?

Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin full fight card

• Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin – for unified IBF/WBC welterweight world titles
• Lauren Price vs Bexcy Mateus – for WBA, IBO, Ring Magazine welterweight world titles
• Stephen McKenna vs Lee Cutler – for WBC international silver super welterweight title
• Viddal Riley vs Steve Eloundou Ntere
• Mark Jeffers vs Elvis Ahorgah
• Mason Cartwright vs Dzmitry Atrokhau
• Frankie Stringer vs Tatenda Mangombe

Liverpool’s Natasha Jonas returns to action on home soil as she looks to add a second world title to her resume on Saturday night at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre.

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The 40-year-old is in the form of her career heading into the weekend’s bout with Croatia’s WBC welterweight champion Ivana Habazin and will be looking to add the famous green championship belt to her collection on a big night for British women’s boxing.

That’s because in the co-main event, WBA, IBO and The Ring welterweight champion Lauren Price is in action too, as she faces Colombian contender Bexcy Mateus. It’s an opportunity for both women to showcase their skills to the world and prove that they are the best in the world at 147 pounds. 

It’s a night where Jonas and Price can stamp their authority on the division and potentially tee up a huge all-British unification bout in 2025. 

Tale of the tape: Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin

Natasha Jonas: Can Jonas collect a second world title and earn a shot at a third?

IBF welterweight world champion Jonas retained her title with a split decision victory over Mikaela Mayer at Liverpool’s Echo Arena in January. She improved her record to 15 wins, two losses and one draw to extend her win streak to six. Now she’s set for action in her home city once again, as the Liverpool Exhibition Centre plays host to a loaded BOXXER card on Saturday night.

Jonas is set for action in the main event, where she’ll bid to dethrone Croatia’s Ivana Habazin and add the WBC welterweight title to her resume. But there’s potentially more than just a second world title on the line for Jonas.

Also in action on the fight card in Liverpool is Britain’s other women’s welterweight world champion, the aforementioned Price, who puts her WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine world titles in the co-main event of the evening when she meets Mateus.

If both Jonas and Price emerge victorious on fight night, the stage will be set for a huge all-British champion-versus-champion unification battle, with the winner likely to face WBO champion Mikaela Mayer in the second half of 2025 for the undisputed title.

It all makes Saturday’s clash with Habazin a huge fight for Jonas. The opportunities that lie on the other side of it are immense. Can she keep her momentum up and power into 2025 on a seven-fight tear?

Ivana Habazin: Will experience give Croatian world champion the edge?

Habazin heads into Saturday’s title unification bout with a significant experience advantage over Jonas but can she make it pay on fight night?

Croatia’s WBC world champion captured her title with a unanimous decision victory over Hungary’s Kinga Magyar in Zagreb back in April as the 35-year-old became a two-time welterweight champion. Habazin is also a former IBO middleweight world champion and has competed in nine prior world title fights.

While all the attention is on Jonas heading into their matchup, Habazin will be looking to upset the applecart and put her 28 fights’ worth of experience to good use to frustrate the hometown favourite and pull off a shock win.

Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin: The key factors

Jonas is the clear A-side in this matchup. Whether it’s the home advantage, her current form, her standing in the division or the pre-fight odds, everything points to Jonas having the hot hand. 

For her, it’s all about delivering on a night that has been put together to not just showcase her talents but also to set the table for what’s to come if she wins.

That can sometimes bring additional pressure to a fighter and, if they’re not ready for it, they can freeze on the big occasion. 

But I don’t think we’re going to see that from Jonas on Saturday night. She’s had plenty of big nights already and her last fight, against Mayer, was against probably the best welterweight in the world not currently residing in the UK. 

Jonas has already been tested against the best in the division and she’s passed that test.

We mentioned Habazin’s experience factor above and she’s shared the ring with some of the greatest names in women’s boxing. But it’s also worth noting that in those fights, against Cecilia Braekus and Claressa Shields, Habazin came off second best. She’s seasoned, she’s been in there with some of the best in the world and she knows she’ll have to disrupt Jonas’s rhythm and try to prevent her from settling into her work.

It’s a real banana skin-type fight for Jonas. But, on a night where so much could go right for her, the thought of Jonas underperforming is unthinkable. She might not have as many fights as Habazin but she’s got more than enough experience to handle her latest test. 

Big things await Jonas and I’m expecting her to claim a landslide win on the scorecards in this one.

FIRST’s top tip for Natasha Jonas vs Ivana Habazin

Jonas is fighting at the top of her game right now and after her hard-earned victory over Mayer earlier this year, her confidence will be sky-high heading into Saturday’s bout with Habazin.

The Croatian world champion isn’t to be completely discounted but Jonas should be too fast, too sharp and too skilful for Habazin. I think the 2/5 odds on a Jonas win on the scorecards represents reasonable value for the most likely outcome.

PICK: NATASHA JONAS TO WIN BY DECISION – 2/5 (BetMGM)

Extra tips

With Jonas and Price both in world title action on Saturday night in bouts they are strongly fancied to win, pairing the duo in a winning method acca offers a little more value than simply backing them to win. 

The form book suggests that a decision win for both women looks like the most likely outcome and a double on Jonas and Price to both win by decision is a 7/10 shot with BetMGM.

Jonas and Price to both win by decision 7/10 (BetMGM)

However, if you’re feeling even more bullish about the pair’s chances of victory, pairing Jonas and Price to both get the win inside the distance will get you odds of 16/1. On a night where both women are almost unbackable favourites against their opponents in the head-to-head markets, those odds look almost too good to ignore for a cheeky side bet.

Jonas and Price both win inside the distance 16/1 (BetMGM)

Odds correct at the time of writing.