The IBF and WBC welterweight champion on returning to the ring, boxing politics and her imminent wedding
A
year ago, on a historic night for boxing when an all-women card of fights was held at the Royal Albert Hall last March, Lauren Price produced an imperious headline performance which should have led to a series of even more prestigious bouts. Her dominant display in outclassing the venerable Natasha Jonas appeared to be the ideal launching for a new stage of Price’s career as the IBF and WBC world welterweight champion.
But when she finally steps back into the ring on Saturday night in Cardiff to defend her titles against Stephanie Piñeiro Aquino, the little-known Puerto Rican challenger, almost 13 months will have passed since that high point. Only frustration and inertia have followed.
“Oh, 100%,” Price says when asked if her exasperating absence offers an insight into the enduring mess of boxing politics. “People on the outside don’t understand but sometimes it comes down to your promoter, if they want to put you on, if the money’s right, if the contracts are in place and legal issues are sorted out. There are a lot of things in the background.”
