Lauren Price was crowned the new World Boxing Association welterweight champion after outpointing Jessica McCaskill by a ninth round stoppage on Saturday from the Cardiff International arena in the city of Wales, United Kingdom.
With intelligence and ferocity on the part of the local boxer Price, an attractive fight was developed for those present.
McCaskill had owned the crown since August 2020 when she managed to displace the legendary Cecilia Braekhus for all the 147 lbs. belts becoming the unified champion. This was her fifth defense.
The American fighter from Chicago made a frontal fight honoring her aggressive style, but time, distance and accuracy were on the side of the representative of Wales, Lauren Price.
Each athlete’s stance on the ropes led to a hard head butt during the fourth round on a missed duck dive by McCaskill that resulted in a pronounced swelling of the American’s left eyelid.
That accidental injury grew over the rounds until after the medical review in the ninth round referee Michael Alexander announced the end of the action and with a unanimous technical decision, the judges ruled Price the 3-card victory at 90-82 in her favor.
Price achieved great feats in the amateur field marking the history of women’s boxing in Wales as the first to give medals to her nation and then for the elite Great Britain team: 2014 bronze at the Commonwealth Games, 2018 gold at the same contest, 2019 gold at the World and European Games to then in 2020 reach the dream gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
By June 2022 Price made the leap to professionalism and since then she remains undefeated with 7 victories among which 1 was by fast track and now she adds the absolute welter championship of the pioneer organization.
