Lauren Price won the WBA, IBO and Ring Magazine welterweight world titles with a comprehensive victory over Jessica McCaskill in Cardiff.
The fight was stopped two seconds into the ninth round, with McCaskill unable to continue due to swelling in his eye.
Due to a clash of heads, the decision was left to the judges’ scorecards, with Price emerging as the clear winner in all three after receiving a boxing masterclass from the Welsh fighter.
“I believe this is just the beginning,” Price said after her win.
“I want to come back here and make a legend. She came at me from round one and took a while to close the distance, but I had fun and I’m going to get better. Principality. I want to fight in the stadium, that’s my dream.”
Price was only competing in his seventh professional match after a stellar amateur career that brought him a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. The former international footballer’s aim was to become Wales’ 14th world champion and first female champion on a night when home fans turned out in droves to fill Cardiff’s Utilita Arena. Ta.
Challenger Price, who is almost 10 years younger than his American opponent, entered the ring to Dafydd Ivan’s national anthem ‘Ima O Hyde’ before the atmosphere reached a crescendo with a performance of the Welsh national anthem.
No one doubted MacAskill’s ancestry. The Chicago native has unified two weight classes during her career and boasts more world title fights on her resume than Price has professional bouts.
McCaskill was undefeated at welterweight, but losses to Chantel Cameron and a draw with Sandy Ryan in her past two bouts have put question marks over the fighter, who is four months shy of her 40th birthday. arrived.
There was obvious respect between the two men early on, but the tempo picked up as MacAskill took Price down wildly, and the American was caught with some good punches as the bell rang to end the second round.
MacAskill was spoken to by referee Michael Alexander after pushing Price back into the ropes again in the third round, but the crowd was clearly unimpressed by the American’s antics. Price began to relax, moving skillfully in and out of range and delivering venomous punches, and swelling began to appear around MacAskill’s right eye.
When the fight reached the halfway point, MacAskill was under severe pressure and Price was clearly aiming for the American’s swollen eye. A welt was also growing from MacAskill’s left eye, and Price continued to land counter shots and the American continued to land accurate punches.
A doctor was called in at the end of the seventh inning to examine Macaskill’s eyes, but the fight continued with no change in dynamics and was eventually called off.
Price can now aim for a lucrative match with British pair Cameron and Ryan high on his list.
Reece Edwards defeated Thomas Patrick Ward by unanimous points decision to become the new WBA Intercontinental Featherweight Champion.
Hughie Fury, cousin of world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, continued his comeback by stopping Germany’s Patrick Korte in two rounds.
Fury has been out for three years due to health issues, but it was his second fight in three weeks following his six-round points win over Kostyantyn Dovvishchenko.
